Chennai, January 17 (IANS). The distribution of Pongal gift hampers to ration card holders in Tamil Nadu has been temporarily postponed for some beneficiaries. Officials said on Saturday that many families had gone to their native places to celebrate the Pongal festival, due to which they could not collect the hampers within the stipulated period.
The state government has now decided that after the return of such beneficiaries, distribution will be started again through ration shops. A formal announcement in this regard is likely to be made in the coming days.
According to Civil Supplies Department officials, more than 90 percent of eligible beneficiaries have received Pongal gift hampers under this flagship festive welfare scheme of the government. The remaining beneficiaries are mainly those who were not present at their place of residence at the time of distribution.
Each Pongal gift hamper contains a cash assistance of Rs 3,000, one kilogram of brown rice, one kilogram of sugar and one sugarcane.
The remaining hampers and cash assistance are likely to be distributed by the end of this month, officials said.
Pongal Gift Scheme was formally launched on January 8 by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Alandur, a suburb of Chennai. The objective of this scheme is to provide financial relief and essential food items to rice ration card holders during the festive season.
The scheme is expected to benefit around 2.22 crore ration card holders across the state, making it one of the biggest festive welfare initiatives of the Tamil Nadu government in recent years.
Under the scheme, each ration shop was instructed to issue tokens to about 300 beneficiaries daily to avoid crowding and ensure smooth distribution. To benefit more and more people, the government had extended the distribution period till Bhogi festival i.e. 14th January. Despite this, some percentage of beneficiaries could not collect the hampers as they were out of their registered locations.
Officials clarified that no eligible beneficiary will be deprived of the Pongal gift hamper and the distribution will be completed by making special arrangements after the people return. The government is going to issue detailed guidelines soon, so that the remaining beneficiaries can get their rights without any hassle.
–IANS
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