The Planning Commission Monday clarified that it was not going by a set poverty

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line for allocation of subsidised food and supported an approach of giving benefits based on various economic factors.

The plan panel had drawn flak from activists, including from members of the influential Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), for its affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the poverty line for urban areas could be provisionally placed at about Rs.32 per day.

"The allegation is being made that the Planning Commission is trying to understate poverty. This is simply not true," Ahluwalia told reporters at a joint press conference with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh in Yojana Bhawan here.

"The Planning Commission has never taken the view that benefits should be restricted to those below this poverty line," Ahluwalia said, adding that it had in fact supported the idea of widening the beneficiaries base for food allocation.