9 August 2012:Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) is planning to categorise the poor into three categories to make it easier for the government to provide them preferential treatment. PAF stated that they are planning to categorise the poor into three categories-the lowest 10 quintile, 20quintile and 30quintile below the poverty line. Vice chair of the fund Janak Raj Joshi said categorization makes easier to identify them and ensure their rights to avail benefits from the government. They could be identified through different colour cards, he said, adding that the categorisation will help provide preferential treatment on education, health, agriculture, water and sanitation, and skill development, and also make it easier to plan the targeted programmes.

The fund is planning to start the pilot programme from 15 wards of 15 districts — Taplejung, Khotang, Siraha, Rasuwa, Sindhuli, Rautahat, Mustang, Arghakanchhi, Kapilvastu, Kalikot, Rolpa, Bardiya, Bajura, Achham and Kailali — that includes all the three regions –– Himalayan, Hilly and Terai, he said, adding that poverty alleviation is, however, a regular process and the fund has also envisioned a permanent Poverty Oversight Agency that will harmonise all the poverty alleviation related programmes and direct, supervise, and monitor them on a regular basis. “But for the time being before the formation of the permanent oversight agency, PAF will look after all the pilot programmes as a temporary oversight agency secretariat that will be established before August 15.”

Earlier, the government had asked the fund to prepare the distribution mechanism of identity cards for the poor according to the incumbent government’s much-ambitious Immediate Action Plan. The meeting had also formed a five-member working group including representatives from National Planning Commission, Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Local Development, Ministry of Home, and PAF to assist the technical committee to suggest a methodology and approach to carry out the task of developing an acceptable standard for identifying the poor.

“The Household Poverty Identification Card will be prepared in such a way that it could be used as a National Identity Card that the government is planning,” he added.