Delhi HC seeks Centre's stand on plea to include disabled in BPL category

**New Delhi:**The Delhi High Court today sought the Centre’s stand on a plea seeking inclusion of families with disabled members in the list of those identified as BPL families according to the 2011 census.

Issuing notice to the Centre, a bench of justices A K Sikri and Siddharth Mridul sought its reply within four weeks. “Government should have a positive stand on it as the issue needs consideration,” the bench said while asking Additional Solicitor General A S Chandhiok to clarify the government’s stand.

Chandhiok said the Union Ministry for Rural Development would make its stand clear on the issue by next date of hearing on February 23, 2012.

The bench was hearing a lawsuit, filed by NGO National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), challenging the notification issued by the ministry concerned on May 30 framing guidelines for BPL census 2011. The petitioner’s counsel Jaishree Satpute submitted “this is a complete violation of Supreme Court’s earlier direction to the Centre as well as states to include disabled and destitute men and women in the BPL category to let them avail benefits under Centre’s various schemes.”

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“It is highly probable that most of the families with disabled member may be left out of the BPL list,” the lawyer submitted alleging that the Centre’s decision to exclude such families is unfair.

The Centre had directed the states in May to conduct the socio-economic census to identify BPL families.

PTI