Planning Commission's Poverty line numbers - Where is the accountability?

With his back to the wall now, Dr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the suave long-serving Dy.Chairman of Planning Commission has announced another review and revision of poverty line estimates. That being the case, what will happen to the expert committee under C.Rangarajan which has already been looking into the poverty estimation methodology since last year?  Given the experience thus far, it isn't surprising at all. Montek Singh has been supervising a slew of flip-flop committees at Planning Commission for determination of poverty line methodology for a long time now. The Plan Panel Dy. Chief himself has been there at the helms since 2004.

It is now a well known fact that Dr.Montek Singh and his committees at Planning Commission have continued to throw absolutely ridiculous and bizarre poverty line numbers at the nation over these years despite the means and resources at their disposal. Remember, the Planning Commission’s (earlier) Tendulkar committee report which had drawn poverty line in 2009 at Rs.22.4 per day for rural areas and Rs.28.6 per day for urban areas. Even a renowned poverty expert like late Prof. Suresh Tendulkar couldn’t do justice to the job under the then dispensation at Planning Commission led by Dr.Montek Singh. After much hungama and widespread criticism across the nation then, the Planning Commission, had no option but to revise those numbers on a fresh basis -  taking monthly average household consumption of a family of five. Even then, those revised numbers left a lot to be desired and were not found up to mark, to say the least.

No wonder various critical poverty reduction schemes and financial outlays - based upon such absurd poverty line numbers, have been yielding poor and unsatisfactory results.  All this while, there has been complete ambiguity and incoherence over the subject at Planning Commission. Needless to add here the fact that there has been near total absence of accountability at Planning Commission as far as poverty line estimation is concerned in last eight - nine years. And this is no joke or a matter of irrelevance. No matter how much Montek Singh and his folks at Plan panel downplay or distance themselves from such a fiasco, they can't shrug off their inability and failure to deliver on their mandated task.

Needless to reiterate here that almost all poverty alleviation schemes and attached budgetary allocations including Five year Plan outlays for poverty alleviation are linked to the poverty line drawn by the Planning Commission. It also serves as the basis for metrics on poverty reduction over a period of time. Incorrect drawing of this poverty line means everything goes for a toss as far as government’s poverty alleviation interventions are concerned  - be it the alleviation schemes and programs or the targeted beneficiaries, be it the budgetary outlays or the schemes’ overall implementation, be it the measurement of delivery performance or be it the status improvement of the poor and hungry.

It appears Dr.Montek Singh has managed to lose his sanity by being a bit too long on government subsidies of the highest order. Thanks to his proximity to the PM and his cabinet rank, he enjoys a plush office, free office and personal staff, highly subsidised bungalow in Lutyens Delhi, free vehicle, free driver, free personal staff, free electricity, free phone calls, free house maintenance, free air / train travel, umpteen free foreign junkets, almost free health care for life, etc. - all at the cost / burden of hapless taxpayer of this country. And why did the hardworking taxpayer bear all his cost thus far? So that Montek Singh, in an honest, diligent and dutiful manner, could work hard towards delivering what was right, accurate and just - enabling effective delivery of welfare programs to the most poor and hungry amongst the nation’s billion plus people.

Lo and behold!! Dr.Montek goes out there and belts out, yet again, absolutely obnoxious and appalling poverty line numbers of Rs.27 (rural areas) and Rs.33 (urban areas) a day as the nation’s poverty line thereby making a mockery of the most deprived, hungry and suffering amongst us by producing such heartless, shameless and mindboggling  numbers.  In this day and age, he thought, he could get away with such outrageous mocking at the abject deprivation of a majority of our fellow citizens who are waiting and seeking help -just to hold their body and souls together. He thought he could fool the nation one more time. But he couldn’t. Thankfully and rightfully so!!!

Clearly, this was a case where one didn’t have any clue about the hard and harsh realities on the ground – of the widespread poverty as it exists in India today nor had any kind of identification with or sensitivity towards the real issues of the poor and hungry amongst us. Just a couple of roses in the flower vase on his office table that his peon might be putting every morning for him would be costlier than Rs.27. Even his driver would be making more than Rs.5000 as monthly overtime - leave aside the driver’s monthly salary, benefits, health care, pension, PF, gratuity, etc. as a cost to the taxpayer.

As a side note, it is worthwhile to question what Dr.Montek Singh does every year at World Economic Forum, Davos and what quantifiable and qualitative results has he delivered out of such junkets and similar trips across the world - all at the cost of the hapless taxpayer. Davos is a place where people from all across the world - governments, business, civil society and other sectors engage and network to enhance confidence in their country’s governance, economic performance, infrastructure, trade and business performance, etc. and where they also discuss ways and means to address universal challenges of hunger, poverty, disease and education. Does Dr.Montek Singh talk about his ridiculous poverty line numbers in that august gathering? Not sure if he has ever. And hope he hasn’t as he would have shamed this nation every time he would have blurted out those inaccurate, appalling and ridiculous numbers before a world audience.

Let’s come straight to the point. And this is without taking anything away from otherwise impressive credentials of Dr. Montek Singh. Isn’t it surprising that the Plan Panel Dy.Chief has not yet been sacked by the Prime Minister? Dr.Montek Singh has been shamelessly holding on to his Chair despite such widespread backlash and opposition to his latest poverty line numbers - across the political spectrum. And this is not the first time. If that was not enough, he cut himself a sorry figure yet again when he came up with another set of absolutely flawed numbers on poverty reduction - a few days back. Such pathetic numbers have worsened things further. At a time, when the government was still taking a lot of heat from all corners, Dr.Montek Singh and his team, rubbing salt to the wounds, hurriedly threw another set of flawed and inaccurate numbers - this time on government's poverty reduction performance of last few years. Interestingly, such poverty reduction performance was based upon the already rejected poverty line numbers of erstwhile Tendulkar committee which the Planning Commission itself had rejected long time ago. Simply unbelievable stuff!! It clearly crossed all the heights of callousness, apathy and shamelessness.

Who bothers about the lost time in the life of nation and of its more disadvantaged people; who cares about the lost opportunities and its people falling behind; who takes into account the losses suffered on critical human development front; who cares about the loss of human capital for the nation’s future and who bothers about the overall loss to the nation and its people. At least, not the likes of Dr.Montek Singh and his folks at Plan panel - glorified cushioned occupants of plush air conditioned offices in Lutyen’s Delhi. It is critical that Dr.Montek and his ilk get it this time that the nation has moved on. This nation - especially its youth (a majority) will hold them accountable for every action of theirs and will take them to task. No more free lunches and free rides please for such public servants!! They can’t get away with such crap anymore.

All reports including the government’s show that the most poor and hungry amongst us have remained there where they were in relative economic terms. Quality of life for more than 70% remains where it used to be. The trickle-down effect of growth model is not working. Rapid growth of two decades may have brought some of us out of the clutches of poverty but the more important divide between the haves and have-nots has continued to widen over these years - reaching distressing proportions now.

Certainly, it's time for Dr.Montek Singh to step aside and let the Planning Commission have some fresh breeze of air. The longer he stays at Planning Commission, the more embarrassment he causes to the nation and to his supposedly key benefactor - the Prime Minister. Sense of responsibility and sacrifice, conscientious service / duty to the motherland, character, integrity and accountability are still the qualities that this nation values the most.