Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

PDS quota: Pawar’s claim contested

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Food and Civil Supplies C. Divakaran on Thursday contested the statement of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on allotment of PDS rice to the State.

The Minister said in a statement that the cut in ration quota for APL families was unfortunate. Mr. Pawar’s statement in that regard was not based on facts.

Mr. Divakaran said Kerala required 1.75 lakh metric tonnes of grains a month to distribute 35 kg each to 50 lakh APL card holders in the State. This had been reduced to 17,000 metric tonnes during the last four months. Now, the whole quota for the coming months (up to December 2008) has been cut.

He recalled that the entire quantity of rice procured by the State in 2006-2007 for the Central pool had been handed over to Centre. The State had provided 85,000 metric tonnes to the Central pool till June this year. The balance had not been received after milling. Hence, the statement of the Union Minister that Kerala had sufficient stocks to carry on with the distribution of rations was wrong.

He said that the State needed rice. It had not expected a cut during the Onam season. The quota should be restored at the earliest.

Speaking at Kochi later, te Minister said that that the State government would embark on extensive raids during the Onam season to prevent hoarding and black marketing.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Divakaran said that hoarded foodgrains would be confiscated and distributed through ration retail shops.

He said that the public distribution system (PDS) in the State was facing a crisis and attributed it to the Central government policy aimed at downsizing supplies under the PDS system. Mr. Divakaran said that Ministers, MLAs and MPs from the State would stage a satyagraha in Delhi if the Central government did not restore the quota of rice to the APL families of the State.

The Minister, however, said that there was no need for concern about the availability of food items during the Onam season.

“The State government has taken steps to ensure adequate supply during the festival season,” Mr. Divakaran said. Bazaars would be set up to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities including rice, vegetables, fruits and other food items.

Onam kits would be supplied to APL families. All the 20 lakh Below Poverty Line families would be given the Onam kit free of cost. This would cost the government about Rs.12 crore, he said.

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