The Tamil Nadu government has come out with its own guidelines for inclusion and exclusion of beneficiaries for the Public Distribution System (PDS).
The State Food Department, through an order of July 5, laid down the norms for identification of beneficiaries. Lists are being prepared that will enumerate Priority Households (PHH) and non-priority households, as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA) stipulation that only 50.55% of the State’s population can be eligible for entitlements.
Officials say that the State is going through the process merely because it is required by the NFSA but there is no legal bar on the Tamil Nadu government from keeping the PDS universal and applicable to all.
A top official of the food department says that there is no change in the State government’s policy of universal PDS.
The government will not discriminate between priority households and the general category of ration card holders with regard to providing entitlements such as free rice.
It was in October last year that the State government decided to implement the NFSA, after fighting with the Centre for many years over a host of issues.
At the time of enacting the law in 2013, the Centre assured all the States that it would not disturb the annual allotment of foodgrains (rice or wheat, as the case may be), which was prevalent at that point of time.
In respect of Tamil Nadu, this was 36.78 lakh tonnes of rice. In addition, the State government procures, on an average, nearly 28,000 tonnes of rice every year. The State government’s rice subsidy bill is now ₹3,458.50 crore, an increase of about ₹1,100 crore more than the previous year.
Exclusion criteria
As per the new rules, those families having at least one member as income tax payer, having an air-conditioner, owning a car or having an annual income of ₹1 lakh will all have to be excluded, while preparing lists of PHH.
Also, the rule of exclusion will apply to those households paying professional tax or owning over five acres of land. If any family has a retired or serving government official, it will also be considered non-priority.
Hereafter, types of cards such as Antyodaya Anna Yojana (representing the poorest of the poor) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) will all be clubbed and brought under the category of PHH.
Likewise, those families headed by widows, single women or differently-abled will come under this category. In rural areas, households consisting of agricultural workers will be brought under PHH.
