AGARTALA, June 12 (TIWN): Uniform guidelines for socio-economic caste census across India largely deny the state-specific needs in different regions of the country, Tripura Rural Development (RD) minister Naresh Chandra Jamatia said here today.

Speaking to reporters at the civil secretariat at Agartala this afternoon, the minister said that the Department is currently undertaking a special socio-economic caste census based on a set of parameters set by the state government to ascertain ‘actual BPL’ population.

“The state would have a very low figure of population below the poverty level – around 17 percent, if the state were to go with the central government guidelines. We are of the opinion that the actual number of BPL population is way higher than that”, Jamatia said. Tripura recorded 68 percent of its population under the poverty level in the last caste census report.

The minister, however, added that the government is expecting much lower BPL rate in the ongoing caste census.

Asked about his take on caste census guidelines in the country, RD minister Jamatia said, “I think caste census guidelines should be framed on state specific needs. Market variations are bound to come in different states”. “Gujarat and Guwahati are not the same. Uniform parameters and standards set to judge socio economic caste census are bound to overlook the vast diversity of the country”, he added.