I am poor so I get ration from the government, read the walls of BPL families in Rajasthan’s Dausa
- Villagers in the Dausa district claimed they would be paid Rs 750 if they painted this message onto the walls of their homes.
- About 50,000 homes in Sikrai and Bandikui tehsil of Dausa district are marked with these messages outside their homes.
- Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Rajendra Singh Rathore said this tradition began earlier by the Congress government.
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The walls of BPL families in Rajasthan’s Dausa have to be painted with this message if they want ration under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). According to Surendra Singh, CEO, Zila Parishad Dausa, this measure was taken to identify those who live below poverty.
Singh defended his position by stating that he went ahead only after receiving directions from the state government. If any family failed to bear this message, they wouldn’t get the 10 kg of wheat they are entitled to under the NFSA.
Villagers in the Dausa district claimed they would be paid Rs 750 if they painted this message onto the walls of their homes. “Even when we opposed, they painted our walls with this message. We feel very humiliated but what can we do. The government is just making fun of us by painting this,” ANI quoted one villager as saying.
About 50,000 homes in Sikrai and Bandikui tehsil of Dausa district are marked with these messages outside their homes, The Asian Age reported. Even though they’ve borne this humiliation, these families haven’t got their ration for many months.
The publication claimed that this has been the practise for a while. Earlier, the district administration in Bhilwara identified BPL houses with a yellow patch which carried the name of the beneficiary and an identification number.
However, Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Rajendra Singh Rathore said this tradition began earlier by the Congress government.
“The practice was started under then chief minister Ashok Gehlot and today he is politicising this matter,” The Asian Age quoted him as saying.
