The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Restoration of rice subsidy for Sri Lankan refugees sought

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 26, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Restoration of rice subsidy for Sri Lankan refugees sought

Special Correspondent

Jayalalithaa writes to Manmohan

CHENNAI: The rice subsidy scheme for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, withdrawn by the Union Home Ministry, should be restored, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has demanded in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dated August 23, seeking his intervention.

``It is not humane to leave the refugees in the lurch especially when they are waiting to return to their motherland,'' she has stated.

There are 50,674 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in 103 camps in Tamil Nadu. ``These refugees came to India under duress during the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka during 1983-1996. They have been waiting to return to their motherland as soon as normalcy is restored in Sri Lanka,'' she said.

Noting that the influx of refugees and their sustenance in India had always been recognised as an international issue, she said the sudden withdrawal of subsidy was inexplicable. The reasons given ``do not stand scrutiny''. The refugees are looking forward to the day they can return home and eking out a livelihood well below subsistence level.

``I am of the view that administrative inconvenience cannot be cited as a reason for taking a policy decision, which has such wide ramifications. Moreover, the annual commitment for the Government of India on rice subsidy for refugees is hardly Rs. 7 crores. The number will dwindle if normalcy returns to Sri Lanka,'' said Ms. Jayalalithaa.

She said "refugees" was, ``strictly speaking,'' not a State subject. However, on humanitarian considerations, the State Government had been all along bearing the Rs. 25-crore expenses for providing cash doles, shelter, food, clothing and utensils in camps.

It had to wait for reimbursement from the Centre.

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