CHENNAI: The largest family of Tamil Nadu has 20 members, according to state civil supplies data; but as per the oldest member of this family, an 89-year-old former Chennai corporation employee, there are 30 members living in his two-storeyed house on Apparswamy Koil Street in Mylapore.
A R Venkatesan, a retired assistant executive engineer, said he faced many hurdles to see the names of all his family members on the ration card.
While the card issued 20 years ago had 24 names, the latest one covers 20 members of the family with eight of their names printed on it. Officials made minor changes to the card’s format to get it ready.
“Though 30 people reside in the house now, we chose not to include the names of 10 members,” said V Kothandam, son of Venkatesan.
The members live in a house with six dwelling units and Venkatesan prefers to call it, not joint, but a large family.
As of May 22, 7.01 crore people have been enrolled on 2.24 crore family ration cards in the state, with an average of 3.1 members per card.
Being the largest family among these, Venkatesan’s house was inspected by civil supplies officials last year.
‘More number of large families in Chennai’
Venkatesan recalled that he received a sugar ration card in the early 2000 and the family regularly purchased supplies from the PDS shop until a few years ago. “My father Rajarathnachari bought our current house in 1942. I have five sons, all residing in separate dwelling units of the house,” he added.
Kothandam recalled that during 2006-2007, their application for a new ration card was not processed because all members had the same residential address.
“We were told that only a new card could only be issued if some of us moved to another address. However, we chose to not move,” added Kothandam. An official from the Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection said, “The complete digitisation of ration cards with Aadhaar linkage has helped us identify the pattern of families in the state. A considerable number of families consist of two to three members.”
As per official data, the state has 1,312 ration cards with more than 10 family members. Interestingly, 277 of these cards were issued in South Chennai and 255 in North Chennai. Compared to other districts, Chennai has a higher number of larger families.
“For several reasons, many are reluctant to remove the names of their daughters or sons from the ration cards even if they move out. Thus, many cards remain unused for years, while some are used only for purchasing sugar or dal. Out of 2.24 crore ration cards, an average of 1.7 crore Cardholders purchase at least one item from PDS shops per month,” added the official.