Centre's U-turn on rice to Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: No money will be levied for the rice allotted by the centre for the state for flood relief, according to Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Earlier, the union food ministry had issued a letter to the state civil supplies department that the central rice will not be free.

While the state demanded 1, 11,000 metric tonnes from the centre, the union food ministry sanctioned just 89,540 metric tonnes.

However, in a letter sent to the food and civil supplies department, the union food ministry said that the rice was not free and that the state will have to give Rs 233 crore to the centre.

The letter said that the state government can accept the deal within one month. An amount of Rs 25 will be charged per kg. "If Kerala failed to pay the cost, the state will be excluded from schemes under Food Safety Act or the amount will be debited from the National Disaster Relief Fund," the letter said.

Following this, the state again requested the centre to make rice available free of cost. This demand was accepted by the food minister in the evening.  

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh expressed its willingness to supply 2,000 metric tonnes of rice and Telangana 500 tonnes. Chattisgarh has sent 2,500 tonnes worth about Rs 7.5 crore through a special train.