Over 1 lakh to get BPL cards, what about the homeless?

The draft report published by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in February states that 1,27,000 people come under the BPL category. However, the list does not include the thousands of homeless people living in the city. According to the 2001 census, there are 67,000 homeless people living in Kolkata. A recent survey conducted by NGO Kolkata Samaritans shows that only 3.69 per cent of the homeless possess BPL cards.

At a meeting organised by Kolkata Samaritans, people from BPL families narrated the problems faced by them when they went to submit the household survey form, based on which the BPL is made.

Manju Paik from ward number 50 said Councillor Pradip Ghosh never opened the ward office to allow her to submit the form. An NGO representative alleged that though it was mandatory for every ward office to display a copy of the list, Ghosh refused to do so. “We have been living in the area for ages and have cast my vote regularly. Yet, our councillor is not cooperating,” said Paik.

Julfiya Biwi’s form was not accepted at the ward office in Rajabazar as she did not have a ration card. “I have a voters ID card, yet they did not take my form,” she added. Volunteers from Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) also alleged that councillors and influential people harass them.

“Most of the councillors have refused to show us the BPL list. Some of them have even misbehaved with us,” said Nupur Ghosh, a volunteer with APIL.

They also alleged that household survey forms were not available in several ward offices and the homeless received no assistance in filling the forms.