Tamil Nadu addresses 97,000 Public Distribution System complaints

The Tamil Nadu Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, R. Sakkarapani, announced on March 21, 2025, that over 97,000 complaints have been addressed from beneficiaries of the Public Distribution System (PDS). He reported that the complaints were received since 2021 through boxes and registers at Fair Price Shops. The complaints included issues such as delays in opening ration shops, selling essential items at inflated prices, and distributing poor-quality goods. The Minister spoke in the Assembly while responding to S. Rajesh Kumar, the Congress floor leader. The DMK government has opened nearly 3,000 new ration shops, both full-time and part-time, to improve access. As of March 2025, Tamil Nadu has issued approximately 2.25 crore ration cards. There are also 51,327 new applications ready to be processed for card issuance. Since 2021, 18,09,677 new ration cards have been given out. Additionally, 1,67,795 applications for new cards are still under review. The government has converted 16.85 lakh Non-Priority Household ration cards into Priority Household cards based on recent applications. In another development, Minister for Municipal Administration and Water Supply, K.N. Nehru, mentioned that the government is looking into extending the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) to areas that were previously part of village panchayats but are now merged with municipalities or corporations.