Union Minister for Social Justice Thawar Chand Gehlot on Wednesday said West Bengal has the highest number of beggars and vagrants in India.

The country in total has over four lakh beggars, with the highest 81,000 beggars in West Bengal, while Lakshadweep merely has two vagrants.

At least 4,13,670 beggars reside in India, which consists of 2,21,673 males and 1,91,997 females.

Gehlot in a written reply to Lok Sabha quoted a 2011 census and mentioned that Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh stood at second and third positions, with 65,835 and 30,218 beggars respectively.

The union territories have the least number of beggars.

Also read Body backing Ola, Uber drivers says strike may continue

As per the government report, there are only two beggars in Lakshadweep, while Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and the Andaman and Nicobar islands have 19, 22 and 56 vagrants respectively.

Amongst the Union Territories New Delhi and Chandigarh have the largest numbers of beggars. In the national capital there are 2,187 beggars and where as the city beautiful homes 121.

Meanwhile, an organisation for backward classes has urged the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) to include nomadics, beggars, wandering caste, depending castes,services castes, nomadic tribes, semi-nomadic tribes, denotified tribes in the A group of the sub-classification of OBCs.

In October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set up a commission to divide the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) into sub-groups, a move that would help the most backward communities to reap reservation benefits.

Backward Classes (BC) Welfare Association President R Krishnaiah has written a letter to the NCBC demanding that nomadics, beggars, wandering caste, depending castes,services castes, nomadic tribes, semi-nomadic tribes, denotified tribes should be included in the A group of the sub-classification.

Those who are practising handicrafts, caste, occupational groups and who have less than 50 per cent representation in education and employment sectors in population ratio should be included in group B, the letter said.

The castes, handicrafts class, occupations groups and representing more than 50 per cent representation in population ratio should be included in Group C, it added.

People associated with agriculture and other castes should be classified into Group D. Harijans, Christians and some Muslim castes are to be included in Group E, he said in the letter.

"After fixing the groups depending on the population of the castes added on their respective groups, the percentage of reservation should be decided," the letter said.

(With inputs from agencies)