CHENNAI: The centre must reconsider its proposal to cap the allocation of foodgrains for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) ration card holders to seven kg per person through an amendment to the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. The plan would affect nearly 58.51 lakh people in Tamil Nadu, the CM said.
The draft amendment Bill, published by the Union Food Department on June 24, proposes to allocate seven kg of foodgrains per person per month, subject to a cap of 35 kg per AAY household. Considering the possibility of reduction in allocation to less than 35kg for families that have fewer than five members, the CM has urged the centre to retain the existing entitlement of 35kg for every family irrespective of the number of members.
TN has 18.64 lakh AAY ration cards covering 69.27 lakh beneficiaries. Vijay pointed out that of the 18.64 lakh AAY cards, 15.75 lakh cards covering 58.51 lakh people belong to households with fewer than five members. “If the amendments come into force, TN’s monthly allocation of foodgrain for AAY card holders would decline from 65,261 tonnes (MT) to 42,040 MT, pushing lakhs into poverty, malnutrition and hunger,” he said.
The CM’s letter said TN is predominantly a rice-eating state, where it is consumed in the form of idli, dosa and pongal for breakfast or dinner, and as the staple food for lunch by almost the entire population.
Reduction in rice allocation will drive poor into malnutrition: CM
“Moreover, the rice supplied to AAY cardholders forms the staple food for all three meals a day and cannot be substituted with any other commodity from the open market.
Any reduction in allocation would result in substantial out-of-pocket expenditure, driving poor families into poverty, malnutrition and hunger,” Vijay said. The CM further said the entitlements under the NFSA were deliberately designed to be simple to ensure that no family, irrespective of its size, suffers from hidden hunger and malnutrition.
“Converting this into a per-capita entitlement, while imposing a household ceiling, effectively penalises states with smaller family sizes, particularly the southern states which have successfully implemented the Government of India’s family planning programme,” he said.