43% families apply for Rs 2,000 govt dole

Coimbatore: The family of Murali (name changed), 28, lives in an apartment at Selvapuram in the city and pays not less than Rs 10,000 as rent per month.
Three out of the four members of the family work for reputed organizations and own multiple vehicles for their convenience.

But still they had applied for Rs 2,000 dole that the state government had announced for the families living below poverty line (BPL) and the corporation has accepted their application.

“We have applied for the dole under our mother’s name as she is the only one who does not go out for work as directed by the corporation workers. When rich people are applying for the dole why shouldn’t we apply for it?” questioned Murali, pinpointing several people who had applied for the dole.

It is not the single instance where a family living a luxurious life had applied for the dole meant for BPL families and the corporation has accepted the application.

So far, the city corporation has received over 2.25lakh applications which accounts to 43% of the total households (5.21lakhs as in 2018) in the corporation limit.

“Even we didn’t expect so many applications. As we got directions not to reject any applications, we have been accepting all the applications,” said a senior corporation official on condition of anonymity.

As the corporation could not trace about 55,000 families out of 68,000 families that were identified in 2018 survey, we got directions to receive applications from everyone who wishes to apply for the dole, the official said, adding that the number of applications that they receive has fallen low, of late.

K Kathirmathiyon of Coimbatore Consumer Cause said, “Coimbatore is one of the economically stable cities. Over 50% of the applications would be rejected after scrutiny as the city holds not more than 15% of BPL families.”

Activist J Daniel Jesudass asked how the corporation would verify the information provided by the applicants.

“Before announcing the dole, the state government should have identified the number of BPL families which they have not done so far. The government has informed that it would distribute the dole only to 60 lakh families across the state. But, as the days pass the number would multiply several times,” he added.

President of Satta Panchayat Iyyakam Siva Elango said the scheme was implemented only in the view of election and do not have any actual intention of helping the poor people. The number of people applied from rural areas is even higher and it accounts to 70% to 80% of the total population, he said, explaining that only 10% of the state’s population is below poverty line and the state government itself has acknowledged it several times.

“Instead of spending the government money to gain votes in Lok Sabha election, they should spend it to fulfil basic amenities and implement welfare scheme for the public,” he added.