Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today hit out at the Centre for reducing the kerosene allotment to 29,060 KL and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and to restore the allotment to the State at 52,806 KL per month.
"The unjust and arbitrary under-allocation of kerosene by the Government of India to Tamil Nadu to 29060 KL for April-June 2013 is penalising the poor people", Jayalalithaa said in a letter to Singh.
"I request your urgent and decisive intervention to undo the injustice done to Tamil Nadu and to allot the entire requirement of 65,140 KL of kerosene per month. As an immediate interim measure, I request that the Centre should at least restore the allotment to 52,806 KL per month, which was the level of allotment for April-June 2011 quarter", she said.
She expressed shock over the March 20 order reducing the allotment of kerosene to 29,060 KL per month, which she termed as "biggest cut imposed on any of the States".
She accused the Centre of meting out to Tamil Nadu "unfair and vindictively harsh treatment" by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, without giving any specific reason.
"Is the Government of India punishing Tamil Nadu for running one of the most efficient public distribution systems in the country"?, she asked.
Jayalalithaa expressed dismay that the Centre did not consider her earlier letters to allot 65,140 KL per month, which was the actual requirement of State.
"..It is extremely distressing to find that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has persisted in repeatedly reducing the allotment of kerosene to Tamil Nadu", she said.
