The State Food and Civil Supplies department is intensifying its efforts to achieve 100% coverage with regard to the provision of ‘smart cards’ to existing ration cardholders within a few weeks.
Making it clear that genuine cardholders, who are unable to get ‘smart cards’, would not be denied essential commodities, a senior official noted that only seven lakh out of 1.9 crore existing cardholders were yet to receive the new cards, including 3.5 lakh card holders in Chennai and Kancheepuram districts.
In respect of the seven lakh cardholders who are yet to obtain the new cards, the major hitch is mismatch of data, as furnished by cardholders online, with the database available with the department. This is why the field officials at fair price shops have been advised to collect the right details from the cardholders.
The official explained that the mismatch could arise either with regard to the photograph or the name of the head of the family. There are about three lakh cards which have the problem of mismatch, the official pointed out, adding that if the department was not able to meet its target of 100% coverage this month, it was confident of getting there by the end of January.
