The Tamil Nadu State Minister for Food, Kamaraj, announced that the ration items would be given only to the people who have smart ration cards from 1st March.
In a session with the press reporters, the minister explained that the activity of replacing the old family ration cards with new smart cards is in good progress. 90% of the smart cards have already been issued. The distribution of smart cards to another 5% is in progress. 5 Lakh persons have not yet furnished their Aadhar card details. They are yet to be given family smart cards. Though these have been given sufficient time, they have still not linked their Aadhar cards.
The state government has decided that the ration items would be issued only to those with smart ration cards. Further, time extension has been given to those who have not furnished their Aadhar card details. In case they fail to furnish Aadhar card details this time also, their ration cards would be declared as fake and cancelled. This step would enable the state government to reduce the quantity of items to be procured. Also, the others would benefit as extra quantities can be given to them.