Made the cut? A couple in Belpahari, West Midnapore, where a large population lives below the poverty line

Calcutta, March 18: Among people below the poverty line, only those who are out of work or have physical disability have been identified by the government as the “poorest of the poor” and will be the initial beneficiaries of the cooked-food scheme announced yesterday.

A survey is being conducted to prepare a list of the “poorest of the poor’’.

“We don’t have the exact figure on such people and will only get to know it after the survey is completed,” said self-help group minister Rekha Goswami. “We will later examine if more people can be accommodated in the Rs 100-crore project,” she added.

Food cooked by self-help groups will be given every day to every member of the “poorest” section, the finance minister promised in his budget speech yesterday.

“Our focus would be on poor people who are old and those who are physically incapable of doing any kind of work. If a person cannot work, how would he earn two square meals?” Goswami said.

“We plan to issue cards to the beneficiaries to prevent abuse of the scheme.’’

Municipalities and panchayats have been told to scan existing lists of below-poverty-line people and check out with councillors and other local representatives the exact condition of the prospective beneficiaries, said an official.

Finance minister Asim Dasgupta and Goswami today discussed how to proceed with the scheme.

They are likely to call a meeting of the 126 municipal chiefs in the state soon.

The menu hasn’t been finalised but the government intends to offer rice, dal and vegetables for lunch and dry fruits late in the evening.

“Right now, we are thinking of giving a heavy lunch and dry fruits. But we’ll have to find out whether meals can be given twice daily with the money earmarked in the budget,” the self-help group minister said.

The government intends to launch the scheme from April 1, but the announcement of the panchayat polls might defer its implementation.

“If the panchayat polls are held in May, the scheme could be launched in June. Starting it before can amount to violating the model code of conduct,” the finance minister told The Telegraph.

“We have targeted the poorest in the below-poverty-line category.”

The scheme is expected to benefit at least 4 lakh people.

The government intends to launch the scheme first in the rural areas and then move into semi-urban and urban places, Dasgupta said.

A finance department official said about a fourth of the state’s population of eight crore lives below the poverty line.

The government plans to use village community cent- res for the distribution of the cooked food. “Every village has a chandimandap (where pujas and concerts are held) or a hall that can be used. Self-help groups can serve the meals in lieu of an honorarium,” the official added.