CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday launched the Thayumanavar Scheme, which delivers essential PDS commodities like rice, sugar, wheat, palmolein oil, and toor dal at the doorsteps of senior citizens (aged 70 and above) and persons with disabilities, across the state. Marking the launch of the event, Stalin flagged off vehicles carrying goods to beneficiaries from Gopal Nagar, Tondiarpet, and Sathya Nagar. He also interacted with a few beneficiaries directly.
The initiative was first reported by TNIE on June 17. The PDS items will be delivered to beneficiaries on the second Saturday and Sunday of every month. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin launched the scheme in his Chepauk-Triplicane constituency by flagging off vehicles delivering commodities to 2,467 beneficiaries. Ministers in other districts also inaugurated the initiative by flagging off vehicles in their respective regions.
Of the state’s 2.3 crore ration cards, covering seven crore people, 16.7 lakh cards (benefiting 21.7 lakh people) are eligible under the scheme. This includes 15.8 lakh family cards with at least one elderly member (20.4 lakh beneficiaries) and 91,969 cards with at least one differently-abled member (1.3 lakh beneficiaries).
Expressing joy over the scheme’s launch, the chief minister in a video message said, “We do not believe that our duty ends with announcing a new scheme – we ensure it reaches the last person in society,” noting that the initiative was conceived after recognising the difficulties faced by the elderly and differently-abled in accessing fair price shops.
Despite the additional annual expenditure of Rs 30.16 crore, Stalin said the government considers this a life-saving responsibility. Calling it the “biggest service” of the co-operation department, he hailed the dedication of its staff and officials in making it possible.
The CM noted that the state has 37,328 fair price shops, including 2,394 opened in the past four years. He credited these outlets for making the state free from starvation deaths Fair price shop staff have been given beneficiary lists ranging from 35 to 180 per shop. Items will be delivered using vehicles equipped with PoS machines and weighing scales. After Aadhaar authentication, the entitled goods will be handed over at the beneficiary’s doorstep.
‘Captain’ had envisioned the scheme 20 yrs ago: Premalatha
SALEM: “The implementation of the Thayumanavar scheme is a victory for ‘Captain’ (late actor-politician Vijayakanth), who first announced it in the 2006 election manifesto,” said Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) general secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth in Salem, on Tuesday.Speaking after a meeting with the party’s booth committee leaders, she said the scheme, launched recently by Chief Minister MK Stalin was an idea first proposed by Vijayakanth nearly two decades ago.
