Montek defends Rs 32 a day limit for poverty line

“That it how the poverty lines are set up and that is how poverty lines are updated,” he said commenting for the first time after the controversy broke following an affidavit filed by the Planning Commission in the Supreme Court.

In its affidavit,the Planning Commission has stated that a person with consumption of up to Rs 32 per day would be considered poor in urban areas. The per capita consumption limit in rural area has been fixed at Rs 26 a day.

Asserting that the data forwarded to the apex court was set by the Tendulkar Committee which was appointed to define the poverty line,he said the amount fixed were per each person not per family.

“This is the number the Tendulkar Committee recommended which is an expert group. We accepted that which mean that the poverty numbers went up”,he said.

“Many in the media misread the affidavit. I have heard the people say how a family of five can live on Rs 32. This number is a per capita number,between the rural and urban.

For a family of five it has to be multiplied by five,” Ahluwalia said.

About the poverty criteria fixed using the Tendulkar Committee methodology,Ahluwalia said,“I am not sure,what we can do about this as it is a recommendation.. may be we can appoint another committee that is all,” Ahluwalia said.