CHENNAI: Despite the exclusion of the cash reward from this year’s Pongal gift scheme, nearly 85% of ration cardholders about 1.87 crore families have received their gifts from fair price shops. A total of 2.2 crore ration cardholders, including residents of Sri Lankan refugee camps, were eligible for the Pongal gift.
In a statement on Saturday, K R Periyakaruppan, minister for the cooperation department, said 1.87 crore families had received their Pongal gifts as of January 18. The statement also mentioned that gifts could be collected until January 25.
The distribution of gifts was launched on January 9. A total of 50,000 ration shop employees have been engaged in the effort.
The Pongal gift includes a kilogramme each of raw rice and sugar, along with a sugarcane. Additionally, around 1.6 crore ration cardholders received a dhoti and a saree. The state government allocated a total of `249.76 crore for the distribution of Pongal gift.
Since 2014, the state government has been distributing cash with Pongal hampers, except in 2015 and 2022. During years when cash gifts were included, an average of 99.3% of ration cardholders collected the hamper.