Patna, May 20: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today demanded setting up of an independent commission to identify people living below the poverty line (BPL).

Kumar said this while welcoming the Centre’s decision to start a caste-based census. He said a separate commission for identification of BPL families in the state should be formed, which will continuously update records for welfare schemes for the underprivileged people.

He said: “There should be an independent and unbiased commission to prepare a BPL list. It would be up to the members of the commission to decide whom to include or exclude from the list. This work should be their responsibility on a permanent basis.”

He said a caste-based census will be helpful for the formulation of welfare policies.

He said: “We have been demanding a caste-based census for a long time. Census should be done once this manner so that the formulation of policies can be done conveniently.” Earlier in the day, Union cabinet minister Ghulam Nabi Azad approved a caste census for BPL families in rural and urban areas. The combined BPL and caste census will seek to identify the real poor in the country and also list their caste affiliation.

The government hopes the BPL census would pave the way to identify the households living below the poverty line in rural and urban areas of the country. The entire process for the BPL census will be completed by December and the results would be utilised in the 12th Five-Year Plan.

Nitish, who met Union health and family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi yesterday, said: “I have demanded immediate inspection of government medical colleges, which is being set up at Pawapuri in Nalanda district and Bettiah in West Champaran district by the Medical Council of India (MCI). I have also sought approval for teaching MBBS at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna.”

Nitish said earlier the state government plea was rejected on the ground that fees previously deposited for the inspection was not valid for the current year. However, he requested the minister to get the inspection done as the money was paid.

He said: “I have requested the minister to start the process of MCI inspection. All possible facilities have been made keeping with the conditions of the MCI in the two colleges.” He said he has requested the minister to completed the under construction work of JP-AIIMS at Phulwarisharif as soon as possible so the people of Bihar can use its facilities.

In the evening today, Nitish released 43 Bihar-centric book of Prabhat Prakashan while inaugurating it’s new centre at Frazer Road with power minister Bijendra Yadav and Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tiwari.