A meeting with District Commissioners and Zilla Panchayat CEOs, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah unveiled a perplexing situation regarding Karnataka's Below Poverty Line (BPL) population. Despite economic progress, an astounding 80% of families in the state claim BPL status, raising eyebrows and questions.


The numbers paint a stark picture: 4,37,23,911 individuals currently hold BPL cards, encompassing 1.27 crore families. Even more striking is the backlog of 2.95 lakh pending applications for new BPL cards.


Siddaramaiah expressed concern over this apparent contradiction, noting, "Niti Aayog reports a decrease in poverty levels across the state. So why aren't we seeing a corresponding reduction in BPL cardholders?" He drew attention to neighboring Tamil Nadu, where BPL card distribution sits at a comparatively modest 40% of the population.


The Chief Minister has called for a thorough review of the situation, emphasizing two key actions:

 Identifying and removing ineligible cardholders from the BPL roster.Accelerating the process of updating records to remove deceased individuals.