By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Food Minister C. Divakaran Saturday said the recommendations of the state governments should be taken into account when the list of people below poverty line (BPL) is prepared.
“The recommendations of the states should be given adequate importance when such a list is being prepared. The centre should take into confidence the state governments while preparing the list,” said Divakaran at a seminar here on food security.
Food ministers from nine states took part in the meeting. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan inaugurated the seminar.
The seminar is being held at a time when the central government is getting ready with a Food Security Act and is to come out with a new BPL list.
Through the act, government wants to ensure that every BPL card holder gets 25 kg of either rice or wheat at Rs.3 per kg.
In the BPL list for Kerala, the central and state governments have always differed. While the state government says that there are 2.5 million BPL families, the central government’s list has 1.5 million families.
It is based on the BPL list that the central government allocates food items to the states.