Kerala   

More rice and wheat for State

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre has sanctioned 10,000 tonnes of rice and 6,000 tonnes of wheat as special quota to Kerala in view of Bakrid and Christmas.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran told a press conference here on Saturday that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had assured the government that it would sanction a month’s quota of food grains for retailing through the public distribution system (PDS) in advance.

As much as 15,000 tonnes of raw rice has already been sanctioned to the State as special quota for the festival season. The Corporation has promised that it will sanction the food grains required for sale in the open market in the State at controlled price.

The government is planning to buy rice from Andhra Pradesh to meet the immediate requirements of the State. A loan of Rs.50 crore will be taken from State Bank of India for this.

He said the State government was planning to distribute 2 kg to 3 kg of rice free of cost to schoolchildren.

The rice would be made available from the quota allocated to the State for the noon-meal scheme for students. About 7,000 tonnes of rice is pending with the State in this quota. The Education Minister will place the scheme before the Cabinet for approval.

The Minister said all these steps would help mitigate the shortage and price rise of food grains in the State. The government is planning to distribute 1 kg of sugar additionally to the 70 lakh ration card holders in the State.

A high-level delegation led by Mr. Divakaran would leave for Andhra Pradesh on Sunday to explore the possibility of sourcing food grains and other essential commodities required for Kerala from the public and cooperative sectors there.

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