All rice card holders to get Rs 1,000 Pongal cash gift

CHENNAI: All ration card (Rice) holders in the state would get Rs 1,000 Pongal cash gift disbursed by the state government for Pongal this year. Accepting public demand and political pressure months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the state government has reportedly agreed to distribute Rs 1,000 Pongal cash gift to all those who possess rice (ration) cards in the state ahead of the harvest festival, like last year.

Reliable government sources confirmed that Chief Minister M K Stalin has issued orders to relax the conditions and include employees of state, central and Public Sector Undertakings employees and taxpayers who were exempted from the list of beneficiaries eligible to receive Rs 1,000 Pongal cash gift this time even if they had rice cards.

As per the earlier announcement issued by the CM, employees of union and state governments and PSUs and taxpayers besides sugar and no-commodity card holders were ineligible to receive the Pongal cash gift.

Unlike the previous years, the state government introduced the eligibility criterion this year for Pongal cash gift, replicating the conditions imposed for disbursement of Rs 6,000 per family flood relief after the recent deluge in Chennai.

The aforesaid category of people was advised to apply for the flood relief sum at the ration shops by providing details of their bank accounts in which the government offered to deposit the relief sum upon scrutiny.

However, the restrictions on Pongal cash gifts drew the ire of the people and the Opposition took advantage of it by urging the government to disburse Pongal cash gifts to all card holders. On Tuesday, the government acceded to the request to disburse the cash along with the usual gift hamper to all rice card holders. Distribution of Pongal cash at ration shops begins in the state from Wedneswday, January 10.