Fri Mar 21 11:32:10 UTC 2025: **Tamil Nadu Government Addresses Public Distribution System Complaints and Ration Card Applications**

Chennai, March 21, 2025 – The Tamil Nadu government has addressed 97,535 complaints related to the Public Distribution System (PDS) since 2021, according to Food and Civil Supplies Minister R. Sakkarapani. These complaints, lodged through Fair Price Shop complaint boxes and registers, included issues such as delayed shop openings, inflated prices, and poor quality commodities.

The Minister also announced that nearly 3,000 new ration shops have been opened, bringing the total number of ration cards in the state to 225,592,240 as of March 2025. Furthermore, 51,327 new ration card applications have been approved and will be issued shortly. Since 2021, 1,809,677 new ration cards have been issued, and 167,795 applications are currently under review. A significant number of Non-Priority Household (NPHH) ration cards – 1.68 million – have also been upgraded to Priority Household (PHH) cards.

In other news, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Minister K.N. Nehru stated that the government is exploring the possibility of extending the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) to areas previously part of village panchayats but now incorporated into municipalities or corporations.

Read More