Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has introduced new eligibility criteria for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, tightening the selection process to ensure only the most deserving households receive benefits. Starting April, 13 strict parameters will be applied to finalize the BPL list, excluding families that do not meet the revised guidelines.
Under the new rules, families living in houses with concrete walls or those with two or more rooms will be removed from the BPL category. Additionally, ownership of motor vehicles—including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers—will result in automatic disqualification. Fishing boats, mechanical agricultural equipment, and Kisan Credit Card holders with a loan limit of ₹50,000 or more will also be excluded.
Also Read: Transparency in Focus: Himachal to Revise BPL List with New Guidelines
Households where a member is a government employee or earning over ₹10,000 per month will not qualify for BPL status. Families that pay income tax or professional tax, own refrigerators or landline phones, or possess more than 2.5 acres of irrigated land, 5 acres of cultivable land for two or more crop seasons, or more than 7.5 acres of total land will also be ineligible.
The government has stated that this revision aims to ensure benefits reach those who genuinely need assistance. The updated BPL list will prioritize families who lack basic support, including the homeless, beggars, manual scavengers, primitive tribal groups, and bonded labourers, who will be given automatic inclusion.
Officials believe these changes will prevent misuse of welfare benefits and create a more accurate BPL list, allowing the government to better allocate resources to the truly underprivileged sections of society.
