CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Minister for Food and Consumer Protection R Sakkarapani on Friday announced that steps will be taken to provide rice in packets at ration shops, to ensure quality of rice and prevent leakage.
He added that a pilot project will be undertaken to provide 2 kg of ragi instead of rice to ration cardholders in two districts - Dharmapuri and the Nilgiris, where anaemia has been reported among adolescents and children.
He further assured that measures will be taken to address the issue of cardholders not being able to get essentials due to technical glitches while registering their fingerprints.
Announcing the new initiatives in the Assembly during his reply to the debate on demand for grants to his department, Sakkarapani said to encourage PDS staff, three prizes at the State level and two prizes at district levels will be given to them. Also, to promote doorstep services, new ration smart cards will be sent to applicants' addresses through post.
To ensure proper storage of grains and avoid wastage, the department has planned to construct 49 storage facilities at a cost of Rs 100.55 crore. Of them, 12 facilities with a capacity of 28,000 metric tonnes (MT) will be constructed with NABARD funding assistance.
Also, 35 facilities with of 35,000-MT capacity to store paddy will come up at Tiruvallur and Mayiladuthurai districts at a cost of Rs 43.75 crore and two 3,400-MT facilities will be constructed at Ranipet and Thirumangalam, each costing Rs 2.80 crore.
Besides, roof will be built for 44 storage facilities located in Thanjavur and Trichy, and to ensure quality of the essentials supplied through PDS shops, renovation works will be carried out at 260 TN Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) warehouses at cost of Rs 90 crore. Efforts are also on to computerise the operations of these warehouses, the minister said.
To prevent the smuggling of ration commodities, three special patrol units will be formed and stationed at Tiruvallur, Pollachi and Uthamapalayam. The department has planned to provide 50 CCTV cameras to Civil Supplies CB-CID Wing to monitor movement of vehicles which transport essentials to PDS shops at a cost of Rs 50 lakh.
During the debate, the house witnessed heated arguments over the alleged distribution of poor quality jaggery as part of Pongal gift hampers. The minister sternly denied the charges and said only in two places - Tirupattur and Kanniyakumari - some irregularities were found and the persons responsible were immediately suspended.
Ragi to be provided in two districts
Food Minister R Sakkarapani said a pilot project will be undertaken to provide 2 kg of ragi instead of rice to ration cardholders in two districts - Dharmapuri and the Nilgiris, where anaemia has been reported