Smart card distribution will end by December: Kamaraj

On corrections to be made on smart cards, Kamaraj observed that it was natural for minor hiccups while rolling out ambitious schemes such as issue of smart cards, and that they would be addressed in a day or two if brought to the notice of the respective officials.

To a query on the lack of transparency in addressing online grievances, the Minister defended the system stating that every complaint raised was given a solution and the same was being circulated by SMS. “There could be stray incidents, and that too would be addressed,” he added. 

Refuting the allegation of excess purchase order of Masoor Dal, the Minister clarified that the purchase was well within the purview of monthly usage. “Purchase orders would be issued against the monthly requirement which hovers around 21,000 metric tonnes comprising Toor dal, Canadian lentil, and Urad dal. A decision had been taken to ensure that every card gets 1 kg of dal as there were ‘issues’ regarding non-availability of urad dal for some card holders who had already purchased monthly dal limit of 1 kg,” he said.

As regards near-double price revision for sugar and its subsequent patronage from the family card holders, Kamaraj said that many states do not provide sugar to non-Andhiyodhya Anna Yojana (non-AAY) cards. “Whereas our state has not stepped back from its commitment of sugar provisioned at Rs 13.5 per kg to AAY cards, and the revision would apply only to non-AAY cards,” the Minister quipped.