Kerala yields to Centre's ultimatum, will return money for rice provided during floods; CM signs file

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has yielded to the Centre's ultimatum to return the money for rice provided during the floods. According to reports, the Chief Minister signed the file to pay the money after the central government gave an ultimatum that if the money is not paid, it will be recovered from the central allocation. The Centre demanded a total of Rs 205.81 crore. Although the state informed that it was under severe financial pressure and there was a crisis, the Centre remained firm on its stand. With this, the Chief Minister signed the file to pay the money.

The Centre had allocated 89540 metric tonnes of rice following the August 2019 floods. It had immediately demanded the payment of the amount of rice. The Centre did not relent despite the state's many requests to consider rice distribution as relief during floods.