CHENNAI: As many as 16.1 lakh ration cards comprising a total of 52 lakh people have been upgraded from non-priority household (NPHH) cards to priority household (PHH) cards. This reclassification allows beneficiaries to receive increased allocations of rice and other essential commodities under the Food Security Act, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Sakkarapani informed the Assembly on Tuesday. Currently, about 3.64 crore people in Tamil Nadu fall under the PHH category.
During the discussion on grants for his department, Sakkarapani said 19.27 lakh new ration cards have been issued since the DMK assumed office in 2021. “A total of 27.75 lakh people have been removed from 6.11 lakh ration cards due to migration, death, and other factors,” he added.
The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation currently operates 19 Amudham departmental stores, all of which will be revamped to sell fast-moving consumer goods. “The Amudham outlets at Anna Nagar and Gopalapuram have already been refurbished on a pilot basis. Since their inauguration, sales have increased 10 times. We are planning to modernise six additional stores at a cost of Rs 22 crore,” Sakkarapani said.
To prevent smuggling of PDS items, two zonal units led by Superintendents of Police have been established in Coimbatore and Tiruchi. “Since May 2021, as many as 36,593 persons have been arrested for smuggling PDS goods and items worth Rs 27.69 crore recovered. Among those arrested, 301 have been detained under the Goondas Act,” the minister said.
