Kerala to get special quota of PDS rice till September

New Delhi, May 12 (UNI) The Centre will continue to give an additional quota of 10,000 tonnes of rice per month during June-September for supply through the Public Distribution System.

An assurance to this effect was given to Kerala Food and Civil Supplies Minister C Divakaran when he called on Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to raise the issue of food shortage in Kerala in the light of the Centre cutting the state's PDS rice quota of 113,420 tonnes per month to 17,000 tonnes a few months ago.

In the light of complaint from the state against the cut in the PDS quota for distribution to the Above Poverty Line (APL) families, the Centre has sanctioned an additional quota of 10,000 tonnes a month for the months of April and May.

Mr Pawar assured Mr Divakaran that it would continue to give an additional 10,000 tonnes from June and till September by when the Centre would take a decision on increasing the state's special quota or otherwise.

Mr Divakaran told mediapersons that he met Union Oil and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora and sought the sanctioning of a major chunk of the proposed 87 new LPG agencies to the state.

Mr Deora had agreed to sanction 17 of the new LPG agencies to the SUPPLYCO under his ministry, he said.

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