Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state would send an all party delegation to meet the Central government seeking to restore the ration rice quota of the state government.
Mr Vijayan told reporters here on Wednesday after an all party meeting here that the delegation would hand over a memorandum to the Centre.
There was a shortage of about two lakh tonnes of food grains in the state’s quota with the Nation Food Security Act (NFSA) becoming a reality.
The statutory rationing system, which was in force in the state for several years, had come to an end after the NFSA came into force, Vijayan said.
As per the NFSA, the number of beneficiaries eligible for being in the priority list has been fixed. The system of the ration wholesale trade has been abolished and made the state government’s responsibility.
Mr Vijayan also said that the State Government had decided to seek special relief of '991.54 crore from the Centre to tide over the drought situation. The state will submit a memorandum seeking assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund to face the drought situation in the state. Steps also would be taken to clean and rejuvenate wells and ponds as part of the ‘Haritha Keralam’ project, Vijayan added.
