THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil said that he has not received any official communication from the CPI or any other organisation advising against celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation, Supplyco. He was addressing the media about the Supplyco celebrations.
“While there are many shortcomings, Supplyco remains a functioning business. The opposition’s attempts to discredit the government will ultimately harm consumers. Despite the economic challenges faced by the state, Supplyco ensures that 7-8 out of 13 essential items are consistently available,” said Anil.
The minister mentioned that there was a decline in daily sales from Rs10-11 crore to Rs 3-4 crore. During the Onam season last year, sales amounted to Rs 7 crore with only Rs 1-1.5 crore from subsidised products. The rest were non-subsidised items sold at a discount of 5-30% showing strong sales of these products.
He pointed out that the sale of medicines and petrol remains profitable and that it was unfair to brand Supplyco as merely a seller of subsidised goods. “Measures have been taken to ensure the provision of essentials to everyone despite the economic crisis. Rice was procured from the food corporation in June for distribution in schools. In February, the cabinet decided to revise the prices of essential commodities, offering a 35% discount from market rates. Supplyco has incurred liabilities by not increasing prices for eight years. Discussions are going on with the finance department to address these financial challenges,” added Anil.
The 50th anniversary celebrations will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday at 11.30 am at Ayyankali Hall. Various other events are also planned throughout the year as part of the celebrations. In addition, Supplyco plans to launch five new projects. Other initiatives include completing the audit and account finalisation up to the financial year 2022-23, fully implementing ERP systems, increasing scientific warehouses for the National Food Security Act from 36% to 60% and introducing new products under the Sabari brand.
Supplyco also plans to prevent fraud through Aadhaar-linked biometric paddy procurement and biometric subsidy distribution.