The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Sugar quota: VS flays Centre

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 30, 2010
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Sugar quota: VS flays Centre

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram: The Centre's decision to slash the State's ration sugar quota by 566 tonnes is deplorable, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said.

Briefing mediapersons after a Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday, he said it would push up the price of sugar in the open market.

Divakaran's plea

Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran has asked the Centre to reconsider the decision to slash Kerala's sugar quota.

In letter to the Union Food Minister on Wednesday, he said the sugar quota to be distributed to the below poverty line (BPL) card holder was 4,113.5 metric tonnes.

But the quota for January had been reduced by 566.6 metric tonnes to 3,546.9 metric tonnes. The slash was being made purportedly to adjust the special quota sanctioned during the Onam festive season. He questioned the justification for such a slash. An additional 1 kg of sugar had been sanctioned for Onam in the past also. Such an adjustment was never made in the past, he said.

He said the reduction of that sugar from the regular quota was not acceptable. Even without the slash, BPL card holders were getting only 400 gm of sugar a person. The BPL and AAY sections were being given an additional one kg of rice in connection with Christmas and New Year. It was at such a time that the cut came, he added.

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

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section