Other States - Madhya Pradesh   

Chauhan’s threat to observe fast

BHOPAL: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Wednesday issued the ultimatum that the people would be forced to observe “fast” starting on April 30 as a mark of protest against “continued indifference” of the Union Government on the issue of drought relief and allocation of foodgrains. He has stated that he would have no option but to join the fast.

The Chief Minister raised the issue of drought relief and allocation of foodgrains through a letter he wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday seeking his intervention.

Through the letter, the Chief Minister has demanded that the State be allotted foodgrains at the rate of 35 kg per month for each of the 62.5 lakh Below Poverty Line families. He has also pointed out that at present the Union Government allocates BPL food grains at the rate of 35 kg for only 41.25 lakh families leading to a situation where the quota of foodgrains for each BPL family gets restricted to about 20 kg per month. He has also demanded that the Union Government allocate 1.19 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains every month for distribution to the Above Poverty Line (APL) families.

The Chief Minister has stated that the monthly allocation of foodgrains under APL to other States is much higher than Madhya Pradesh. In the first six months of 2007-08, Tamil Nadu has been allocated 14.50 lakh metric tonnes, Andhra Pradesh 11.37 lakh metric tonnes, Karnataka 6.90 lakh metric tonnes and West Bengal 3.60 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains compared to only 66,000 metric tonnes to Madhya Pradesh. On its part, the Chief Minister has pointed out that the State Government was making special efforts to procure wheat for public distribution system. A bonus of Rs.100 was being paid to the farmers on procurement of each quintal of wheat and 5 lakh metric tonnes of wheat has been procured and the procurement was likely to exceed all-time high of 10 lakh metric tonnes.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Chauhan’s threat to observe fast
‘Parikrama’ path on Narmada river
Chauhan steals Rahul initiative

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu