CHENNAI: A total of 2.15 crore rice ration cardholders—accounting for 97% of the 2.22 crore eligible families—have received the Pongal gift of Rs. 3,000 cash and commodities from fair price shops this year. About 7.6 lakh ration cardholders have not received the benefit across the state, according to official data.
Minister for Cooperation K R Periyakaruppan in a statement on Saturday aid out of the Rs. 6,687.51 crore earmarked for cash distribution, Rs. 6,453.54 crore has been disbursed.
“The distribution of such a large volume of cash within a short period was made possible through meticulous planning and execution by officials and Public Distribution System (PDS) employees,” he said in a statement.
The Pongal gift scheme, launched on January 8, includes Rs. 3,000 in cash, one kg of raw rice, one kg of sugar, and sugarcane. The benefits are being provided to all rice ration cardholders, including families residing in Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilitation camps.
The State government has sanctioned Rs. 6,936.18 crore for implementing the scheme this year. The distribution has carried out in cash through fair price shops by the Cooperation Department.
As per official data, in South Chennai district, nearly 10 lakh of the 10.59 lakh eligible ration cardholders -about 94%—have received the Pongal gift, while around 59,000 cardholders, accounting for 6%, have not received, the highest in the State.
Similarly, about 22,000 cardholders in Theni district have not received the benefit, followed by Madurai with 44,000 and Tirunelveli with 32,000.
The five districts with the highest coverage—Dharmapuri, Tirupattur, Ariyalur, Perambalur and Pudukkottai—have achieved about 98% distribution, with fewer than 10,000 eligible cardholders yet to receive the gift in each district.
A senior official from the Cooperation Department said that over Rs. 6,500 crore in cash was handled at ration shops over the past week. “Funds were transferred from central cooperative banks to respective societies under the supervision of district Collectors and Joint Registrars. With armed police security, the cash was transported to individual ration shops,” the official said.
The movement of funds involved extensive security arrangements at every level, with cash transfers carried out discreetly under full police protection. “Each ration shop caters to about 900 to 1,100 cardholders, handling Rs. 27 lakh to Rs. 32 lakh per shop, at a rate of Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh per day,” the official added.