Onam: Kerala govt to allocate Rs 81 crore for market intervention

Onam fairs at the district and panchayat levels would be organised to ensure that people get essential commodities at an affordable rate

As harvest festival Onam is just a month away, CPI(M)-led LDF government on Thursday decided to allocate Rs 81.42 crore to the state-run Supplyco for market intervention to bring down prices of essential commodities, besides preventing hoarding.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here that Rs 150 crore had already been earmarked for market intervention in the state budget for the year 2016-17 and Rs 81.42 crore would be released from it.

Onam fairs and special onam markets at the district and panchayat levels would also be organised to ensure that people get essential commodities at an affordable and subsidised rate during the festival season, he said.

"Government has decided to strengthen market intervention programmes to control the price of essential commodities during the Onam season for which Rs 81.42 crore will be allocated to the Supplyco. Of this, Rs 4.60 crore is for conducting onam fairs," he told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting here.

A total of Rs 45 crore would be allotted for market intervention, Rs 8.76 crore for distribution of food article kits to Below Poverty Line families and Rs 13.60 crore for the distribution of special sugar from this Rs 81.42 crore, he said.

All tribal families would be given special 'onam kits' with food articles and school students five kg rice as Onam gift, Vijayan said.

Chief Secretary would hold discussions with oil companies to ensure the availability of cooking gas during the festival season, he said adding that special squads would be operate at the taluk and district levels to curb black marketing and hoardings of essential commodities.

Vijayan said government had also decided to release Rs 3000 crore arrears of social welfare pension this month itself. This would reach the beneficiaries at their doorstep through the cooperative banks, he added.