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Rain damage: team to meet Manmohan soon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday demanded that the Centre correct its foodgrains procurement and distribution policies to stem the current price rise.

The Cabinet urged the Centre to take over the procurement and supply of foodgrains from private hands and strengthen the public distribution system throughout the country. It recalled that the Centre had abandoned the procurement and distribution policies that ensured food security in the past. The market was left open to private players for speculation and hoarding. Even government godowns were let out to them.

The Cabinet said Kerala was for maintaining a strong public distribution system. However, quotas of foodgrains to the State were cut of late, paving way for price rise. The Cabinet criticised the Centre for delaying approval of a project for comprehensive development of Kuttanad prepared by M.S. Swaminathan. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, who briefed the media on the Cabinet deliberations, said the project, which proposed protection of dikes in Kuttanand and maintenance of the Thanneermukkom barrage, had been remaining with the Centre for the past six months. The Chief Minister said an all-party delegation would go to New Delhi shortly to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Union Ministers to seek full compensation to farmers who lost their crops in the heavy rain in Kerala last month. Crops in 30,000 hectares had been damaged.

Mr. Achuthanandan said the families of four farmers who died in Kuttanad (including those who committed suicide) would be paid Rs. 50,000 each. Besides, their loans would be written off. Mr. Achuthanandan said he had talked to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for obtaining more harvesters from Tamil Nadu for Kuttanad.

However, enough harvesters could not be obtained either from Tamil Nadu or Karnataka.

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