The Hindu Business Line : Onam free kit for BPL cardholders

A kit worth Rs 50 would be distributed to 20 lakh people in the State, said the Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, after a cabinet meeting. The kit will contain 2 kg rice, sugar, tea and chilli, he said.

The Cabinet also decided to provide free ration to people affected by fever in many parts of Kasargod district.

The State Government has expressed concern over the Centre’s decision to stop the allocation of rice under the public distribution system to families above the poverty line (APL) in the State.

The Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Mr C. Divakaran, said here on Wednesday that he had received a communication from the Centre earlier in the day that there would be no allocation of rice to APL cardholders in the State from August to December this year.

This would put the public distribution system in the State under severe pressure, he said.

The Minister pointed out that the State was receiving around 17,000 tonnes of rice a month from the Centre for distribution to APL cardholders. This level was reached after the Centre had gradually reduced the allocation from about 1.13 lakh tonnes over the last couple of years.

The sudden decision of the Centre to totally stop the allocation had come at a time when the State Government had been making constant efforts to get the quota restored to the original level. “This is probably an Onam gift from the Centre to the people of Kerala,” the Minister quipped.

He said that the communication from the Centre did not give any reasons for stopping the allocation. It merely said that the Centre would consider supplying 11,336 tonnes of rice a month for these families from January 2009.

This has left the State with no option other than to purchase the rice in the open market and distribute it to these families at subsidised rates, Mr Divakaran said.

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