CHENNAI: The food and civil services department’s move to strictly enforce the submission of marriage or death certificate, along with field verification, to remove names from ration cards has resulted in hundreds of such applications being rejected across the state, while more people are facing months-long delays.
The woman heads of several households are facing similar delays in obtaining new ration cards that are mandatory to qualify for the monthly assistance under the Magalir Urimai Thogai Scheme.
Meanwhile, the department after a year-long halt has resumed issuing new ration cards; out of the 2.9 lakh applications received since 2023, 1.3 lakh new cards have been issued.
Despite officials remaining tight-lipped about the enforcement of said regulations, it has come to light that errors while submitting Aadhaar details to obtain death certificates had led to the removal of the names of people who are still alive.
Taking such issues into account, the department has mandated field verification to remove names from the ration cards because of marriage or death. Further, in the case of marriages, the department has stopped removing names unless a marriage registration certificate is submitted.
Although said procedures have existed for years, they were not strictly adhered to, with names being previously removed based on just the submission of death or marriage certificates; wedding photographs were accepted in the past as a substitute for marriage certificates.
Only marriage certificates are accepted to access ration commodities
An official clarified that only marriage registration certificates are accepted now, except in the case of divorce or adoption. A few consumer activists noted that, in some instances, family members removed their children’s names over personal disputes.
A section of applicants from Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram told TNIE that their applications were rejected as they had not submitted marriage certificates. “I got married four years ago. When I applied online, they asked for a marriage registration certificate. My siblings, however, removed their names and obtained new ration cards without it,” said a resident of Tiruvallur.
Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumers’ Centre president T Sadagopan pointed out, “Marriage registration certificates were never listed as an essential document under the Citizen’s Charter for consumers to access ration commodities. The sudden enforcement is causing hardship for applicants.”
Commissioner of Civil Supplies & Consumer Protection D Mohan said that, sometimes, many applicants belonging to the same household apply for name removal to obtain separate ration cards. “As such requests have increased, we now require marriage registration certificates. However, we do not insist from tribal and backward areas, for whom obtaining such documents may be difficult.” He said the department conducts field verification to remove names in the case of deaths.