Alleging efforts made by certain quarters to destabilise the government, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said such forces will be subjected to ridicule by the public. The government will forge ahead with its development initiatives that are aimed at the welfare of all sections including the impoverished despite such odds, he added.
He was speaking while formally launching the distribution of ration cards to 50,461 families under priority groups as part of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s third 100-day action programme here on Tuesday. He also declared the State to be the first in the country to achieve 100%-Aadhaar linkage with ration cards.
Those who will receive the priority cards include 1,067 families who were among those identified as ‘extremely poor’ by the Local Self-Government department.
Elaborating on the measures adopted by the State to ensure food security, Mr. Vijayan said the government has distributed 2,89,860 priority ration cards. While around 1.75 lakh priority cards that were surrendered by ineligible beneficiaries have been reallocated to those who deserved them, another 3,34,431 new ration cards have been distributed by the government during its term.
He added the previous and current LDF governments have utilised over ₹10,000 crore during nearly seven years for its market intervention schemes to control price rise. Such measures have made the State among the most successful ones in containing inflation rates. While the State budget has earmarked ₹2,000 crore to contain price rise, as many as 85 new and renovated Supplyco outlets were opened during the last two years.
Presiding over the function, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil said the government scrutinised 73,278 applications to identify those who were eligible for the priority ration cards. Transport Minister Antony Raju inaugurated the web portal of the Kerala Ration Traders Welfare Fund Board. District panchayat president D. Suresh Kumar and Commissioner of Civil Supplies D. Sajith Babu were also present.
