CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has lowered the eligibility age for home delivery of PDS (public distribution system) goods for senior citizens from 70 years to 65. Official sources from the cooperation department said the decision was taken following several representations from the public, requesting that the benefit be extended to those aged 65 and above.
The department also announced that, starting November, commodities will be delivered in the first week (Saturday and Sunday) of every month instead of the second week.
On September 29, TNIE published a report revealing that only 40-45% of the targeted beneficiaries received their commodities through door delivery in August and September. The remaining cardholders continued to collect their goods directly from PDS outlets. Consequently, the overall share of people availing of PDS goods via home delivery has not increased significantly, raising concerns over the scheme’s design and implementation.
Officials said the tepid response to the home delivery initiative was attributed to the delays in distribution along with the migration or demise of several beneficiaries. In response, the cooperation department has decided to begin deliveries from the first week of every month. For December, goods will be distributed on November 3 and 4, the department said.
The scheme was initially launched to benefit 20.42 lakh elderly aged above 70 years and 1.27 lakh PwDs. “About 8% of the listed beneficiaries were found to be deceased and were removed from the list. The revised list now includes beneficiaries aged 65 and above, along with PwDs whose names were previously omitted. The final list of eligible beneficiaries will be finalised in the coming months,” an official said.
