Bhubaneswar, Aug. 8: Orissa is gearing up for a BPL survey after a 14-year hiatus during which the state’s poverty profile has changed significantly.

Master enumerators for the high-tech headcount due to begin on September 15 have already undergone training in Hyderabad and would be expected to impart tips to those working under them. The state government has sought 90 portable counting devices, which the data operators would be using to make instant entries.

“We hope to complete the exercise by the end of October and send the new list to the Centre in December,” said S.K. Lohani, director, Panchayati Raj, the nodal department for the survey. The exercise involving 30,000 enumerators would use high-tech hand-held devices manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited for on-the-spot data entry by data operators.

“Our job should be a little easy considering that we already have a comprehensive data base compiled during the 2010 Census. We are confident of 100 per cent accuracy,” said an official adding that Below Poverty Line families would have to be identified out of the 85 lakh families in the state as of now. The survey has special significance for Orissa, which is still running its public distribution system (PDS) on the basis of the 1997 BPL count that is out of date and continues to deprive a sizeable chunk of poor families of the benefits of subsidised foodgrains, especially rice that the state provides to all BPL families at Rs 2 a kg.

Though a BPL survey was conducted in the state in 2002, its findings became disputed with the Centre refusing to accept the count. While Orissa claimed to have identified 44 lakh BPL families through that survey, the Centre insisted on a cut-off number of 34 lakh. With the dispute remaining unresolved, PDS distribution in the state continues to be guided by the 1997 survey, which has been described as outdated and grossly unfair.

The Centre-appointed Saxena committee and the Tendulkar committee would have a comprehensive look at different aspects of the BPL issue. State officials hope if the Tendulkar committee recommendations are accepted, the state’s BPL population would take a quantum jump with the total number of families likely to go upto around 52 lakh. This is considered significant as apart from the PDS, several other poverty alleviation schemes such as NREGS would also cater to their beneficiaries on the basis of the latest BPL headcount.