Chief Minister Mayawati has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to increase the Below Poverty Line (BPL) quota for Uttar Pradesh.

According to an official statement, she has requested the Prime Minister to increase the quota to provide justice and relief to a large number of poor families, who are being deprived of their dues because they are not included in the BPL list.

In the letter, which was sent on Thursday, Mayawati has said the matter of increasing the BPL quota is long pending with the Central government and should be resolved expeditiously.

In October last year, Mayawati had written to the Prime Minister that BPL allotments are being conducted in the state according to the 2002 survey. On the basis of the survey, 1.06 crore families were identified as belonging to the BPL category in the state. But subsequent surveys have indicated there was a substantial variation between the original number and the one assigned to the state by the Centre. She has stressed that there is an urgent need to include these “missing numbers” in the BPL list.

Mayawati had also stated that the 2002 survey had provided an additional BPL quota of 10 per cent as a “transient poor” category. But the state has not been able to enjoy the benefit of this quota. She has asked for the Centre’s permission to add this additional quota to the existing BPL list as an interim measure, till new surveys are conducted by the Union government.

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