The Centre should provide financial assistance to the Tamil Nadu government if the former wants the latter to extend to migrant ration cardholders, all its concessions being provided to beneficiaries under the public distribution system, in the event of implementation of the scheme of “one nation, one ration card,” said R. Kamaraj, Food Minister.
Asked whether the scheme of free rice would be applied to the migrant ration cardholders, the Minister, who participated in a conference of State Food Ministers in New Delhi on Tuesday, told The Hindu on Wednesday that such ration cardholders would be given what the Centre prescribed. The free rice scheme, now given to about 1.88 crore ration cardholders in the State, was over and above what the National Food Security Act had stipulated. “If this had to be given to them [the migrant ration card holders], it is for the Centre to give us enough funds.”
Old system is on
In a related development, Sellur K. Raju, Cooperation Minister, emphatically said the State would implement the scheme of “one nation, one ration card.”
Asked how the system of inter-State portability of ration cards would be implemented, Mr Kamaraj reiterated that this would be done, without disturbing the universal PDS and the provision of free rice to the existing ration cardholders. The existing beneficiaries, numbering around 1.99 crore cardholders, would continue to get their entitlements.
Even now, any family, migrating from another State, could get a ration card by presenting documentary proof that it had surrendered the ration card that it held in the other State. “It has been our practice that after verification, such a family will be given what it is entitled to,” Mr. Kamaraj said.
As for ensuring the elimination of duplication in the event of inter-State portability of ration cards, Union Food and Public Distribution Secretary Ravikant said this would be achieved through the creation of the Central Data Repository, which will keep master reference data and beneficiary-level fair price shop transaction data.
On the status of intra-State portability of ration cards, the Food Minister said this would be done, after taking approval of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on his return from his foreign visit. The linking of Aadhaar numbers to the ration cards had been carried out.
[According to the PDS portal of the State government, https://tnpds.gov.in, around 6.6 crore Aadhaar numbers have been registered out of 6.67 crore beneficiaries covered under around 2.05 crore cards).