No ration cards to be blocked: Tamil Nadu government

CHENNAI: Considering the welfare of 1.18 crore ration cardholders under the Priority Household and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (PHH-AAY) categories, the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday announced that no ration cards would be blocked in the State from October 1.

The decision comes contrary to the Union government's move to block ration cards that have not been used to purchase commodities for the past six months.

"We do not have any numbers on ration cards under the Priority Household category that have not been used for purchasing commodities. The government has taken a decision not to block any ration cards in the State," a senior government official said.

Meanwhile, the State government has asked Priority Household and AAY ration cardholders to complete e-KYC (Electronic Know Your Customer) when they visit ration shops to purchase commodities.

In a statement, the government said 96.96 per cent of Priority Household and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) ration cardholders had completed e-KYC. It added that 4.49 lakh beneficiaries had benefited from seven special camps organised by the State government.

The State government has issued an order to all Taluk Supply Officers (TSOs) and Assistant Commissioners in Chennai district stating that no ration cards should be blocked. It has also directed officials to ensure that people can purchase essential commodities from all ration shops.

The Union government had issued a circular to all States stating that ration cards that had not been used for six months would be blocked from Thursday. However, the Tamil Nadu government clarified that no ration cards would be blocked in the State.

In Tamil Nadu, around 2.28 crore ration cards are used by 7.01 crore beneficiaries. The State government has allocated Rs 17,068 crore to the Food and Cooperation Department in the current fiscal year.

The Civil Supplies Department has issued five categories of ration cards: PHH-AAY, PHH, Non-PHH, Non-PHH-Sugar and Non-PHH-No Commodity.