THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM has decided to rally people against Centre’s move to block ration supply to Kerala in the name of Food Security Act. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the Centre should give more time to the state for implementing the Act in view of the peculiar conditions prevailing in the state. Despite LDF government’s request for extending deadline till April 2017, the Centre seems to be hell bent on punishing the people of Kerala, he said.
He said the Centre’s move will lead to drastic cut in state’s ration rice quota. The decision to take out majority population of the state from the ration system is anti people. Mr Balakrishnan said the LDF government was in the process of preparing priority list of people eligible for subsidy ration. Though preparation work for priority list was initiated during UDF Government’s period, not only it failed to complete the work in time but also threw out thousands of families out of the list.
He said there were long queues outside taluk supply offices to receive complaints. Arrangements should be made to receive complaints at village office and panahcyat office. He said the free ration list comprised 1.54 crore people. Since the act was not faultless, CPM had suggested amendments when the bill was discussed in Parliament demanding 35 kg of rice or wheat at Rs 2 per kilo to each family.
However, the Centre is now give 5kg rice per family member which the rice supply of a BPL family comprising three members will now come down to just 15 kg. The CPM state secretary said the state had been following a statutory rationing system since 1965 besides robust public distribution system. These peculiarities of the state should also be taken into consideration.
