Disabled farmer’s family battles for BPL re-entry

Budhi Singh (66), a resident of Bhali gram panchayat in Jawali Assembly constituency and belonging to the Scheduled Caste category, has been left heartbroken and helpless after his family’s name was removed from the below poverty line (BPL) list during the recent Gram Sabha meeting held in July.

For over 25 years, Budhi Singh’s family was part of the BPL list, receiving much-needed government assistance. However, without any prior notice or verification, their name was suddenly deleted this year, plunging the already struggling household into deeper distress. The family includes Budhi Singh, who is physically disabled following the amputation of his right foot; his wife Savitri Devi (63), bedridden for the past 10 months due to paralysis; and their daughter Kanchan Bala (35), who suffers from 70% intellectual disability.

With no steady source of income, the family barely survives on a combined monthly social security pension of Rs 4,300. A pucca house was sanctioned recently under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana, but aside from this, the family continues to face extreme financial hardship. Speaking with a choked voice, Budhi Singh recounted years spent living in a crumbling kutcha house and his inability to cultivate their small piece of land due to his disability.

He said he had submitted an affidavit and a low-income certificate through the panchayat chowkidar, requesting re-inclusion in the revised BPL list. However, the family was blindsided by the exclusion, especially since no on-ground verification or household survey was carried out before the finalisation of the list.

“This is injustice,” said Budhi Singh. “No official came to our home, no one checked our condition. We are barely surviving, and most of our pension goes toward my wife’s treatment.”

Budhi Singh has appealed to the Deputy Commissioner of Kangra to conduct a proper inquiry and ensure his family’s re-inclusion in the BPL list. He hopes that his voice will be heard before it’s too late.

Bhali Panchayat Pradhan Meena Sharma and Up-Pradhan Munshi Ram acknowledged the exclusion. They said it was due to new BPL selection guidelines issued by the state government. “Our BPL list has been reduced drastically—from 99 to just 10 families. Several deserving cases like Budhi Singh’s could not be included under the revised norms,” they stated, urging authorities to consider relaxing the current criteria to include genuinely needy families.

As things stand, the fate of this vulnerable family hangs in the balance—caught between policy and apathy.

Himachal Tribune