New Delhi: The government on Monday said that
the shortcomings of the 2002 BPL survey were being addressed
comprehensively in the ongoing Socio Economic and Caste Census
exercise, and almost all the information would be placed in
public domain once the process concludes in December.
"Checks and balances at several levels -- from the
enumeration stage to public scrutiny at the Gram Sabha level
- will ensure that there is no misreporting. Almost all of
the information will be made available in the public domain,"
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said in his foreword
written on a booklet on the exercise.
The booklet on the "paperless" exercise being carried
out for both rural and urban India was released today.
The entire exercise is being done on a handheld
electronic device (tablet PC) and this will "drastically
reduce" data entry errors and enumerator discretion, Ramesh
said.
The Rural Development Ministry is carrying out the SECC
2011 between the month of June and December this year "through
a comprehensive door to door enumeration" across the country.
It was launched on June 29 in Hazemora Block in West
Tripura.
"There has been extensive public interest in estimating
caste-wise population in the country, and on identifying
households living below the poverty line. The last exercise to
identify people living in poverty was conducted in 2002, but
had several limitations," he said.
The booklet elaborates the difference between SECC, 2011
and the Planning Commission estimates of poverty.
"The Planning Commission provides estimates of the
percentage of the rural and urban population living below the
poverty line in different States/UTs. That is, it estimates
the "how much" of poverty. The SECC, 2011 on the other hand,
will provide information on the "who" of the population living
below the poverty line," it said.
PTI
First Published: Monday, August 01, 2011, 20:59