Kicking off the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011, the Centre on Wednesday said that the exercise is the first step to start any long-term sustainable developmental works in the Naxal-affected and insurgency-hit areas.
After inaugurating the BPL survey along with the caste census, rural development secretary, B.K. Sinha said that Tripura was selected for the purpose to give a strong message for the delivery of flagship schemes to the poor in the remotest of the areas.
“This is the first step in the direction to deliver the benefits to the people in the Naxal-affected areas. The government wanted to send a strong message by starting the BPL survey from Tripura, which had earlier been hit by insurgency,” said Mr Sinha.
The nationwide exercise envisages “door-to-door” census across the country where for the first time even the caste enumeration would take place. The joint secretary in the rural development minister, Sanjay Rakesh, said that the survey will result in a data base which will be very useful in not only designing schemes but also finding out the beneficiaries of the flagship schemes.
Rural development secretary of Tripua, Kumar Alok said that the survey result will be used for delivering the benefits of housing, water supply and even Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to the poor people in the state.
Mr Sinha also said that the Central government will soon be unveiling its National Rural Livelihoods Mission in the Northeast in a big way by setting Rural Development Self-Employment Training Institutes in each of the districts in the region to help self employment for the people.
It has been decided that in the census exercise, criteria like households without shelter, destitute/living on alms, manual scavengers, primitive Tribal Groups, and legally released bonded labourers, in the BPL list will also be included among others.
The remaining households will be identified as poor from the angle of deprivation to which they are subjected to.
The entire exercise is expected to be completed by end of 2011-12 and the results relating to the identification of poor households will be utilised in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17).
The registrar-general of India and chief commissioner of census C. Chandramouli were also present on the occasion.