Tamil Nadu earmarks ₹219 crore for free rations for June

Tur dal, edible oil and sugar will be provided to all ration card holders in June, as part of COVID-19 relief measures

A file photograph of residents collecting rations last month. Photograph used for representational purposes only

The State government has set aside around ₹219 crore towards the provision of tur dal, edible oil and sugar, free of cost, to all ration card holders in June, as part of its COVID-19 relief measures.

The amount has been sanctioned towards the purchase of 9,667 tonnes of tur dal, 2.07 crore pouches of palmolein oil and 43,282 tonnes of sugar. Even though 20,775 tonnes of tur dal are required per month, the State government has been able to reduce the quantity of requirement in view of the Centre’s allocation of 11,108 tonnes to the State.

This is the third approval given by the government towards the provision of rice and other essential commodities, free of cost, to ration cardholders since April. In late March, the government cleared ₹ 2,187.8 crore which included the component of cash support, and in mid-April, ₹184.3 crore for May. Along with the latest order, the aggregate amount of sanction comes to around ₹2,592 crore.

As for the expenditure to be incurred for June, the purchasing rate of tur dal is ₹30,000 per tonne, amounting to around ₹29 crore; palmolein oil, ₹25 per pouch of 1 litre for 1.56 crore pouches and ₹91.25 per pouch for about 51.75 lakh pouches (totalling ₹86.22 crore) and that of sugar, ₹25,000 per tonne for 39,552 tonnes and ₹13,500 per tonne for 3,730 tonnes (totalling about ₹104 crore).