Everyone can now avail Central sops: Niti Aayog

Hyderabad: NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Wednesday that the poverty line would no longer be a criterion for extending Central government benefits.

He said Central schemes such as Housing for All, Food Security Act, NREGS etc. would be extended to beneficiaries irrespective of their income limit and states would be given a free hand to determine the eligibility criteria. Unlike earlier, the Centre will not prescribe any income limit to avail the benefits, he said.

“Prescribing a certain income limit to determine the poverty line by the Central government had earlier turned controversial. For this reason we have decided to do away this practice. There are different surveys like social, economic and caste census in the country to determine whether a person has a house, toilet etc. These surveys can be utilised to provide government benefits regardless of whether they are above or below the poverty line,” Mr Panagariya said.

He also lauded the TS government’s Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya programmes and assured to take up these schemes with the Centre for implementation in all states.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday after the conclusion of “Regional Consultation On Task Force On Elimination Of Poverty In India With Southern Region States”, Mr Panagariya said, “The Centre has recently launched the Housing for All scheme for which the eligibility criterion will not be income limit but whether a particular family has a house or not.”

He, however, refused to comment on the AP special status issue or on allotting special grants to Ts to give impetus to the two new states. “I have not come here to discuss these issues. My purpose of the visit is to discuss elimination of poverty in the country. I don't want to comment on other issues,” Mr Panagariya said.