– Dayanand Mandrekar, Civil Supplies Minister
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Minister of Civil Supplies Dayanand Mandrekar Monday told the House that Goa did not have anyone living below poverty line, shocking his fellow MLAs.
“After the implementation of Dayanand Social Security Scheme (DSSS), Griha Aadhar and other financial schemes; there is no family BPL in Goa,” he told the House in response to a cut motion moved by the Opposition benches on demands for grants to civil supplies, on Monday.
While Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar raised his eyebrows on the reply, the statement was immediately objected to by his own party colleague Vishnu Surya Wagh who told the House that he can show several families who live in the State of penury.
“There are many families who are not even getting benefit of the government schemes… the procedure to apply to be included under BPL category should be changed as lower level panchayat officers are harassing genuine applicants,” he said.
The minister said that if people are not getting the benefit of the schemes then ‘we should admit our failure.’
But he conceded that the process and entire BPL list would be soon reviewed by the State government.
