TN CM appeals to Union govt for relief amid surging food prices, calls for immediate central intervention
In the strongly-worded letter, Stalin explicitly pointed to the gravity of the situation, stating that the "increase of prices of many essential food commodities including rice, wheat, tur dal, urad dal and vegetables like tomato, has burdened the poor and the middle-class families immensely."
3 min read
Stalin also listed out steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to alleviate the burden on consumers. In response to the price rise of essential food commodities, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has written a letter to Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal, appealing for immediate intervention and assistance. The letter sent on Tuesday requested the crucial role of the Union government in providing relief to states battling the ongoing inflation crisis.
In the strongly-worded letter, Stalin explicitly pointed to the gravity of the situation, stating that the “increase of prices of many essential food commodities including rice, wheat, tur dal, urad dal and vegetables like tomato, has burdened the poor and the middle-class families immensely.” He warned that the inflation rate, already at 12.65% for cereals and products and 6.56% for pulses and products as of May 2023, is poised to worsen substantially with the recent price surge.
Stalin also listed out steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to alleviate the burden on consumers. The letter said the state has adopted “various short-term and long-term price intervention measures like supplying vegetables, food grains, and pulses well below the open market price through cooperative outlets and Uzhavar Sandhais (Farmers’ Markets).” Furthermore, he wrote that the state is also supplying tur dal, sugar, and palmolein every month at highly subsidised rates for all cardholders through PDS outlets. “Our state is also supplying rice and wheat free of cost beyond the NFSA coverage through our Universal PDS mechanism,” he said.
Stating that the state government is taking stringent measures to manage the crisis, he said “a detailed review meeting on this issue was held on July 10 and various instructions were issued regarding the supply of vegetables and groceries through supermarkets and fair-price shops run by the cooperative department and Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation.”
Despite these efforts, Stalin asserted that the current situation is a national issue, not restricted to Tamil Nadu. As such, he requested Union Minister Piyush Goyal to expedite measures to import essential commodities in light of domestic production shortfalls.
“Tamil Nadu government has floated bids for procuring some of the above items from domestic or foreign producers and they are in process. I request you to kindly expedite the Union government’s efforts to import these products, in view of the shortage in domestic production,” he said.
In the meantime, the letter also demanded an allocation of 10,000 metric tonnes each of wheat and tur dal per month from the central stock. “Supply from the central stock can ease the situation,” Stalin’s letter said, adding that these items will be sold at cooperative outlets to dampen the soaring prices.
You May Like
