The Hindu : New Delhi News : Demand to release rice quota for Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 03, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Demand to release rice quota for Delhi

Staff Reporter

Under the public distribution system

‘Centre has stopped the release of rice to Delhi from May 15 and instead offered wheat’
‘This move would directly affect the poor living in jhuggi-jhonpri and slum clusters’

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Saket, Vijay Jolly, has expressed concern over the Central Government’s decision to stop the release of the rice quota to the Capital’s citizens under the public distribution system (PDS) and demanded immediate restoration of the normal quota.

Poverty line

Stating that the Centre had stopped the release of rice to Delhi from May 15 and instead offered wheat to meet the shortfall in the total quantity of foodgrains distributed to the poor in Delhi, Mr. Jolly said the PDS was meant for the poverty line ration card holders and therefore this move would directly affect the poor living in jhuggi-jhonpri and backward classes-dominated slum clusters of Delhi.

The MLA charged that the move would directly hit Delhi’s large migrant population as the staple diet of people from a number of States is rice and not wheat.

“Delhi should not be clubbed with other North Indian States because it has a unique demographic character,” he said.

Mr. Jolly also questioned why an additional quota of rice was being given to Andhra Pradesh for distribution at Rs.2 per kg if there was indeed a shortfall of 40 lakh tonnes of rice this year.

Failure to procure

He said the Delhi Government’s failure to procure the rice quota for the poor citizens of the Capital and to protect their rights was deplorable.

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

New Delhi