Kerala CM Says State Has Beaten “Extreme Poverty”, But Has It Really?

What it means is hard to fathom even for the literate Malayalee. But Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in front of a capacity crowd of CPM cadres in Thiruvananthapuram alongside film star Mammootty, announced that the poverty free achievement confirms with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of “No poverty and zero hunger”. As per latest World Bank criteria, people living on less than $ 3 a day are considered to be living in extreme poverty. In order to achieve this, Kerala took the multi-dimensional poverty index route — which incorporates nutritious food, housing, cleanliness, education and basic facilities. The government claims that it has addressed all the reasons for extreme poverty like housing, livelihood, issues, ill-health due to chronic diseases and lack of access to government welfare schemes on a war footing, since 2021. While the LDF government has gone to town with its celebrations both at the ground level and media, critics and the opposition are questioning the very methodology used to arrive at the findings. In an open letter 24 signatories comprising social activists, economists and prominent media personalities have urged the State government to release an authoritative study report that identifies the extreme poor and validates the poverty eradication process. It is too early to predict whether the entire poverty free exercise is a hyperbole campaign with an eye on the ensuing Municipal elections next month and assembly elections next year or a genuine effort to eradicate extreme poverty in the state. As per 2011 census figures, there were 4.85 lakh tribal people, many of them living in extreme poverty. Yet, in the new estimates only 64,006 have been classified as extremely poor. “What magic has happened to alleviate their poverty, “questions the opposition and the elite group!