Over 64,000 people live in absolute poverty in Kerala: govt survey

Shortly after swearing in for his second consecutive term, the first announcement made by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was that extreme poverty would be eliminated by the end of that term. As a first step, he had announced a new survey to take the count of people living in absolute poverty in the state. 

Within a year, the survey was completed and the data was tabled in the Assembly. It showed that 64,006 individuals, i.e, 0.18 per cent of the total population, live in  extreme poverty across 14 districts of Kerala.

The parameters of identifying absolute poverty are based on broad categories such as housing, availability of food, health status, income and geographical location (coastal/forest/urban/rural).

Jiju P Alex, member of the Kerala State Planning Board, told The Federal: “All these factors have to be evaluated collectively as well as separately. In Kerala’s social scenario, people living in abject poverty may be experiencing other factors as well. For example, the non-availability of food may not be due to lack of income to buy food material. They may be too weak or too old to cook for themselves or even unable to make a meal due to mental illness. All these factors are taken into consideration while conducting the household survey.”

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Broader definition 

According to the methodology of the survey, there are sub-categories under the five broad categories that define absolute poverty. Under the health factor, people who are unable to generate income because of a terminal disease or those who have no one to support them in the family will also be counted as poor. Even healthy persons forced to become primary caregivers of bedridden family members, and are thus not able to work, and with no one else to support them, come under the ambit of living in absolute poverty.

The members of a BPL (below poverty line) family which has only senior citizens as earning members, BPL cardholders who are 70 years or above of age and solely depend only on social security pension, and those who live on the street and depend on others for food also come under the  absolute poverty category.

In addition to these categories, the families with children below six years suffering extreme malnutrition, as recorded by the anganwadis, are also counted for the purpose of identifying absolute poverty. Those who lost their houses and the tools for labour in natural disasters and have been living without any work, people living in government-owned land such as railway land, markets, the premises of waste management plants with no other place to live also are counted under the category of absolute poverty.

Different parameters for SC/ST

However, separate parameters exist for understanding absolute poverty among the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. The tribal families living in remote forest areas are covered under the schemes for addressing absolute poverty. The remoteness is measured based on the distance from basic infrastructure facilities. If the person/family is living 3 km away from basic infrastructure facilities such as roads, primary health centres, schools or ration shops, they are counted as living in absolute poverty.

As far as tribal people are concerned, there are additional parameters such as lack of housing, income and health. If eight or more members of a tribal family live in a dwelling of not more than 150 sq ft, those who have BMI (body mass index) below 16 and those who suffer from CED (chronic energy deficiency) are identified as living in absolute poverty. Tribals in search of work and the tribal families in which not even a single member has attained education above the primary level also will be considered as people hit by absolute poverty.

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The SC families who have lost their dwelling in natural disasters, not yet received electricity connection or drinking water connection are counted for the purpose of measuring absolute poverty. And, SC families in which all the members have attained only primary education and not beyond, also come under the category of people living in absolute poverty.

There are scales to understand urban poverty as well, according to the methodology of the survey. The families with eight or more members living in dwellings that do not have an area more than 150 sq ft in municipality or corporation are covered under the survey.

The BPL families either with members who are HIV positive or belong to the LGBTQ+ community also are counted as people living in absolute poverty.

Urban poverty is lesser evil

The survey reveals some intriguing social realities.  One can glean from it that urban poverty is a lesser evil in Kerala. Out of the 64,006 people living in absolute poverty, the majority – 52,000 –  live in rural areas. Out of the 64,006 extreme poor, 3,021 are STs and 12,763 are SCs.

The survey has been done by members of the Kudumbasree – the programme for poverty eradication – and by local self-governments. According to the micro-plan issued by the department of local self-government, eradication of absolute poverty has to be achieved by 2026.

The micro-level intervention programme has to be implemented in three levels: as immediate plan, intermediate plan and long-term comprehensive plan. “The number of people living in absolute poverty – 64,000 – is not a big number. We have to adopt a case-to-case approach. Each case demands specific intervention depending on their requirements. The intervention programme is categorised into three levels based on the requirements,” said Jiju Alex.

History of poverty eradication

Addressing absolute poverty will not be a big challenge for Kerala because the state has a long and consistent history of poverty eradication. The NSSO (National Sample Survey Office) surveys show that there has been a sharp reduction in the poverty level over the last 40 years. The incidence of poverty fell from 59.8 per cent in 1973/74 to 25.4 per cent in 1993-94, which further shows a sharp decline to 7.1 per cent in 2011-12.

According to the figures released by NITI-Aayog on the multidimensional poverty index in 2021, Kerala is the least poor state in India. Only 0.7 per cent of the population are multidimensionally poor considering various parameters such as child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, housing, sanitation, availability of drinking water and electricity etc. According to the NITI Aayog report, Kottayam in Kerala was the least poor district in India with a zero absolute poverty rate.