Bengaluru slum dwellers protest cancellation of BPL cards without any notice: Report

Protests erupted among poor families after their Below Poverty Line status was revoked without notice, threatening access to essential resources.

Anger is brewing among the city’s poor after hundreds of families discovered that their Below Poverty Line (BPL) status had been cancelled without notice.

The protesters demanded that the government review and revise the criteria for BPL eligibility.

On Wednesday, around 150 unorganised workers and slum dwellers, most of them women, gathered at the Commissioner of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department office on Cunningham Road to protest the move, which they say threatens their survival, Deccan Herald reported.

The protesters submitted a letter to Commissioner V V Jyotsna, stressing that the BPL card is not just a ration card but a lifeline, essential for food rations, pensions, scholarships, and even access to medical benefits.

They alleged that fair price shops had begun displaying lists of families whose cards were set to be shifted from BPL (Below Poverty Line) to APL (Above Poverty Line), the report further added.

Citizen activist and advocate Vinay K Sreenivasa, who joined the protest according to the publication, said the sudden cancellations were arbitrary and based on unclear parameters.

The protesters demanded that the government review and revise the criteria for BPL eligibility, and involve civic and social organisations in the verification process to avoid wrongful exclusions.

Commissioner Jyotsna told the gathering that families removed from the BPL list could file formal complaints with the department. However, she did not respond to phone calls or messages seeking further comment.

In January this year, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had emphasized the need to identify and gradually remove ineligible BPL ration card holders who fail to meet the criteria set by the central government.

Siddaramaiah has told the officials that the card of a single eligible BPL cardholder should not be cancelled. Ineligible BPL ration cardholders should be given time to voluntarily return their BPL cards, after which action should be taken to cancel the cards by giving notice to them.

(With PTI inputs)