‘At least 20% BPL families should be in APL category’: Karnataka Minister KH Muniyappa

Congress leader KH Muniyappa attributed the issue to lapses by successive governments and urged parties to set aside differences to rectify the situation.

Karnataka’s Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, K H Muniyappa, highlighted a significant disparity in the distribution of Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards, stating that at least 20 per cent of families holding these cards actually belong to the Above Poverty Line (APL) category.

KH Muniyappa was addressing the Legislative Council on Monday.

According to a PTI report, addressing the Legislative Council on Monday, Muniyappa attributed the issue to lapses by successive governments and urged political parties to set aside differences to rectify the situation.

Responding to a query from JD(S) MLC K A Thippeswamy about recent confusion over the deletion of BPL families from the list, Muniyappa admitted the discrepancy. "I accept that many APL families are in the BPL category. They account for at least 20 per cent. My efforts to remove these discrepancies caused the recent confusion," he said.

Thippeswamy pointed out that Karnataka has 1.43 crore BPL ration cardholders, meaning almost 80 per cent of the population is classified under this category, the report added.  "Why has this happened? Have you investigated it?" he asked.

Muniyappa explained that Karnataka, as the second most economically strong state in the country after Maharashtra, should logically have fewer BPL families. "None of the southern states have above 50% BPL families. Yet, Karnataka has 65 per cent to 70 per cent, which is concerning," he stated, pledging to conduct a detailed inquiry to address the issue.

No impact on genuine beneficiaries

The Minister assured that no legitimate BPL families would be affected during the review process. He also clarified that the government would not cancel APL cards, though only one lakh of the 25 lakh APL cardholders currently avail subsidised food grains.

"We must rise above party politics to resolve this issue," Muniyappa emphasized, committing to a bipartisan effort to ensure fairness in the distribution system.

BPL cards for the needy only

Recently, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar lashed out at the BJP for "politicising the government's decision to review eligibility for Below Poverty Line (BPL) card holders".

He said, "The percentage of BPL card holders in many constituencies is around 90 per cent. My constituency has 90 per cent, and Holenarasipura has 92 per cent BPL card holders. Hence, we need to ensure that genuine and needy people get BPL cards. Some BPL cards have been cancelled after review."

(With PTI inputs)