Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Rural Poverty in Gujarat- Revisit of Bpl Families

Abstract

There is significant inequality among various districts of Gujarat, as far as various aspects of development is concerned. On one hand, there are developed districts like Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Rajkot and on the other hand districts such as Narmada, Bharuch, Dang and Tapi are economically and socially backward. Especially in the tribal districts, various socio-economic problems like income inequality, rural poverty, unemployment, illiteracy etc, are found to be existing to a large extent. Therefore, it was decided, in the present study, to know the condition of the BPL (Below Poverty Line) card holder households. Tapi district, which is one of the tribal districts of Gujarat state, was selected for the purpose. It was decided to study the condition of the BPL families declared by the Government, by revisiting them. The study used the 13 indicators of poverty on which the 2002-03 government survey of the BPL families was based, to examine the regional situation regarding extent of povrty prevailing in the rural areas of Tapi district. Keeping in mind the objectives of the study and various hypotheses, apart from measures of central tendency and percentages, statistical techniques such as chi-square test and correlation analysis were applied. The present study is based on both primary as well as secondary data. The information on the BPL families was collected through interviews, group discussion and questionaries. Some other essential information was collected through research papers, articles, government websites and various other reports