Amid concerns raised by the DMK regarding the ‘one nation, one ration card’ proposal of the Central government, the ruling AIADMK on Tuesday told the Assembly that it will take a decision such that the Universal Public Distribution System in Tamil Nadu remained unaffected.
Replying to a special calling attention motion moved by the DMK in this regard, Food Minister R. Kamaraj said the State government will analyse the pros and cons of the Centre’s plan, which was to be implemented as a pilot project in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Universal PDS was being implemented only in Tamil Nadu, he said.
Of a total of 1.99 crore ration cards in the State, 18.64 lakh were Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cards and 77.81 lakh were priority cards. Unlike other States, Tamil Nadu was successfully implementing universal PDS, and the government will take a decision on the Centre’s proposal of ‘one nation, one ration card’ without disturbing universal PDS, Mr. Kamaraj said.
Earlier, DMK MLA and former Food Minister E.V. Velu (Tiruvannamalai) said that since food preferences varied among different parts of the country, the proposal to allow anyone to draw rations anywhere in the country with a single card should not be implemented. He pointed out that the rations for rice, wheat and sugar were different in other States. When there was a shortage of essential commodities in PDS shops for the people of Tamil Nadu, allowing people from other States to draw rations here will only widen the gap, he contended. The ‘one nation, one ration card’ proposal undermined the spirit of the Constitution and State autonomy, he added.
Former CM Jayalalithaa had, on several occasions, opposed the Centre encroaching on the State’s powers with regard to civil supplies, Mr. Velu said, adding that the latest proposal would only add to the financial burden of Tamil Nadu.
