Rural households having a member earning more than Rs. 10,000 a month or anyone serving in a government or government-aided organisation or owning a landline phone will not be included in the below poverty line category in the new poverty census being conducted by states.
However, the new census, which also includes questions about religion and castes, will compulsory include rural households without shelter, destitutes living on alms, manual scavengers, primitive tribal groups and legally released bonded labourers as BPL.
According to guidelines laid down by the union rural development ministry, the BPL list in villages will not include households who hold at least one kisan credit cards with a limit of Rs. 50,000 or above, or have motorised fishing boats of any make (two/three or four wheelers), or those who have registered their enterprise with the government.
Households paying income tax or professional tax, or those who have three or more rooms with pucca walls, or have 2.5 acre or more irrigated land or five acres of land irrigated for two or more crop season will also
not form part of BPL census, which will be concluded by December.