Rice allotted to Kerala as flood relief not free, minister tells Parliament

New Delhi: The Centre has asserted that the rice allotted to Kerala as a relief measure during the 2018 floods was not free. Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal informed this to the Parliament on Friday.

In a scathing attack on the CPM-led Left front government in Kerala, the minister said the state was a total failure in meeting the people's demands. Goyal urged the state government to make use of the funds allotted by the Centre.

The central government had recently asked the state government to pay the price of the rice allotted during the floods.

The state owes Rs 205.81 crore on account of the rice allotted as flood relief. The Centre had allotted 89,540 metric tonnes of rice to the state during the distress period.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan signed the file to pay the amount as the Centre said it would recover the due amount from the subsidies to be paid to the state next year.

Kerala officials said though they had requested the Centre not to charge for flood relief, the request was not entertained. The Narendra Modi government had also sought payment from Kerala for the helicopter services used for rescue efforts during the floods.