CHENNAI: In a first for the state, the Tamil Nadu government is gearing up to launch a door-to-door delivery service of essential commodities such as rice, sugar, wheat, palmolein oil and toor dal under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to cater to those facing difficulties in accessing the fair price shops for their supplies.
In the first phase, the scheme will cover around 15 lakh of the roughly 2.21 crore ration card, focusing on those cardholding families that have only senior citizens aged 70 and above or persons with disabilities (PwDs) with no other family members available in a capacity to visit the shops for procurement.
Beneficiaries will include both Priority Household (PHH) and Non-Priority Household (NPHH) cardholders. The proposed home delivery of commodities in Tamil Nadu, expected to start in July or August, will be implemented by the cooperation department using various vehicles such as maxi trucks, mini trucks and vans.
A similar scheme, which was launched in Andhra Pradesh by the previous YSRCP government in 2021, was discontinued in May this year due to issues, including frequent failure of biometric authentication, irregularities in delivery and high operational costs.
Chief Secretary N Muruganandam recently held a detailed review meeting with officials from the civil supplies and cooperation departments at the secretariat. According to official sources, the final list of beneficiaries is being finalised at the moment.
An official said, “Since 2021, new ration card applications from PwDs have been categorised under PHH. With this scheme, all PwDs, whether they hold PHH or NPHH cards, will receive home delivery of their ration items.” The items will be handed over at the beneficiary’s doorstep after biometric authentication by the delivery agent, added the official.
‘Initiative won’t face logistical hurdles due to strong transportation network’
Officials further told TNIE that the state is proceeding cautiously, mindful of the challenges faced by a similar scheme launched in Andhra Pradesh in 2021 and discontinued in May this year.
Currently, Tamil Nadu has 24,800 full-time ration shops and 10,355 part-time shops catering to 2.21 crore ration cardholders.
“Cooperative societies managing ration shops have a robust transportation network for moving goods procured by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation. These societies manage 35,000 ration shops.
Therefore, rolling out door delivery will not face any logistical hurdles,” an official added. Besides supporting people who face barriers in accessing the PDS, the initiative is expected to aid in streamlining and improving the efficiency in usage of storage space, especially in warehouses, and thereby minimising losses since the door delivery of goods in bulk would be done within the first week of every month.
The state has issued over 18.45 lakh Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cards to the poorest households, each eligible to receive 35kg of rice per month, some of who may become eligible for the door delivery scheme as well.
To overcome the difficulties faced by many of these beneficiaries living in remote places, the cooperation department already operates 2,494 mobile fair price shops, primarily serving residents in geographically challenging areas such as hilly regions or locations cut off by rivers and highways.
First phase to cover 15L ration cardholders
In the first phase, the scheme will cover around 15 lakh ration cardholders, with the proposed home delivery expected to start in July or August, implemented by the cooperation department
2.21 crore Total number of ration cardholders
PHH & PHH-AAY (under NFSA):
1.12 crore, NPHH: 1.1 crore
The door delivery scheme proposes to cover:
All persons with disabilities (PHH and NPHH)
Senior citizens aged 70 and above