Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Monday urged the Union government to retain the existing entitlement of 35 kilograms of foodgrains per month for every household covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), irrespective of the number of family members, as has been the practice since the enactment of the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr. Vijay requested the Centre to reconsider the proposed amendment to the first proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the National Food Security Act, 2013.
“If the proposed amendment is brought into force without modification, it would diminish the food security of nearly 70 lakh of Tamil Nadu’s most vulnerable citizens,” he said in the letter, a copy of which was circulated to the media.
The Chief Minister pointed out while the existing provision guarantees 35 kilograms of foodgrains per household every month irrespective of family size, the proposed amendment seeks to provide 7 kilograms per person per month, subject to an overall ceiling of 35 kilograms per household.
Although the Union government has explained the amendment is intended to remove intra-category inequities and align entitlements more closely with nutritional requirements, its practical effect would be a substantial reduction in the quantity of foodgrains reaching the poorest households in Tamil Nadu, where the average family size is only 3.54 members, he said.
Tamil Nadu currently has 18,64,600 AAY ration cards, covering 69,26,983 beneficiaries. These households belong to the most vulnerable sections of society identified under the Government of India’s eligibility guidelines, including families headed by widows, persons with disabilities, elderly persons without a regular source of income, tribal families, landless agricultural labourers, daily wage earners and those suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
“These are precisely the households that the National Food Security Act was designed to protect through an assured, unconditional entitlement. The Act was enacted by Parliament as a measure of last-resort protection for the poorest of the poor, and its entitlements were deliberately framed to be simple, unconditional and household-based so that no family, regardless of its size, is left without adequate foodgrains or exposed to hidden hunger and malnutrition,” Mr. Vijay said.
He argued converting the entitlement into a per-capita benefit, while retaining a household-level ceiling, would effectively penalise States with smaller family sizes, particularly those in southern India that have successfully implemented the Union government’s family planning programme.
Mr. Vijay noted Tamil Nadu has consistently maintained a robust and efficiently administered Public Distribution System and has extended coverage and entitlements beyond Central norms wherever necessary, reflecting its long-standing commitment to eliminating hunger and ensuring nutritional security.
He also pointed out Tamil Nadu is predominantly a rice-consuming State and the rice supplied to AAY beneficiaries constitutes the staple food for all three meals of the day.
“It cannot be substituted with any other commodity purchased from the open market. Any reduction in the entitlement would impose a significant financial burden on these families, pushing them towards poverty, malnutrition and hunger,” he said.
