Series: Public Distribution System in Tamil Nadu

Saritha and Krishna (names changed), residents of South Chennai, eloped and got married in May this year. As they belong to different castes, their families opposed the relationship, due to which the couple cut ties with the families and are living on their own now. However, every month is a struggle, as the family sustains itself on Krishna’s meagre income. Since a smart card would take care of their basic food expenses such as rice, dhal and sugar, the duo applied for it online. But, they could not complete the procedure, as the form requires deletion of their names from…

The Public Distribution System in Tamil Nadu (TNPDS), perceived as a boon to citizens from low income groups has many issues. Its nodal agency, the Civil Supplies department, has failed at various levels of operations -- issuing smart cards, easing  online procedures for correcting card information and distribution of the commodities. On one hand,  promises by the state government to complete issue of smart cards by March 1st this year have not been met and on the other, technical issues in the PDS centres are inconveniencing card holders. A reality check conducted by Citizen Matters in various PDS and E…

Fake ration cards The issue of bogus ration cards is an important concern reported across India, and the central government has announced that ration cards may no longer be used as legitimate proof of identity and residence at the passport offices from April 2016. According to the Department of Food and Civil Supplies, a total of 11.14 lakh new family ration cards have been issued while 3.38 lakh fake cards were identified and cancelled across Tamil Nadu during the period from June 2011 to November 2014. According to a report published in 2012 by the Comptroller and Auditor General of…

Even as the Tamil Nadu government has introduced digitization of the Public Distribution System (PDS) and smart PDS cards, ration card holders from many parts of the district complain of lack of access to the monthly supply of commodities which points to the discrepancies in the functioning of ration shops.Tamil Nadu, which follows universal PDS system unlike other states, had asked for more time to implement the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, which is based on targeted PDS. Under NFSA, 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population are entitled to five…