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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Mr G. Karthikeyan, has demanded of the Centre that public distribution system (PDS) be restored in the State.

An official quoted the Minister as saying in letter to the Union Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr Sharad Pawar, that the edifice of the State's erstwhile PDS infrastructure that was widely acknowledged for its stability and equitable delivery system, had started crumbling ever since the APL-BPL dispensation was imposed on it during the regime of the NDA Government at the Centre.

It was in 1997 that the PDS was dismantled and the ration card owners segregated along APL (Above Poverty Line) and BPL (Below Poverty Line) based on their income levels. APL cardholders had to give a higher price for an identical quantity of grains, while enough supplies were available in the open market for the same price. This led to a situation where APL cardholders started accessing PDS outlets less often, before withdrawing completely from the latter.

More Stories on : Social Welfare | Rice | Kerala

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