Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the government would use data from the caste census survey to determine eligibility for the new ration cards.
Telangana Irrigation, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy today announced that the State government was preparing to issue 10 lakh new white ration cards after Sankranthi, benefiting nearly 31 lakh people.
Replying to a query during Question Hour in the Assembly, the minister said that the government would use data from the recently conducted caste census survey to determine eligibility for the new ration cards.
The initiative was projected to add a financial burden of Rs 956 crore annually to the State exchequer, he said.
He said that over 18 lakh applications to add names to existing ration cards had been pending at MeeSeva centres for more than a decade, and that the issuance of new cards aimed to address this backlog while also replace outdated ration cards with smart cards to improve efficiency.
Reddy said that the new white ration card scheme was conceptualised under Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's leadership. A sub-committee chaired by the minister, and including Damodar Raja Narasimha and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, held multiple meetings to finalise the eligibility criteria. The recommendations, based on the Sachchidananda Saxena Committee guidelines and input from MLAs, MLCs and MPs, had been submitted to the State Cabinet for approval, he said.
"The government is also addressing gaps in fair-price shop operations. Measures are being taken to fill the vacancies in these shops, and new outlets will be established in recently formed gram panchayats and thandas," the minister said.
Acknowledging criticism of the Doddu rice, a coarse rice variety distributed through fair-price shops, Reddy said that it was underutilised, and promised that the government would distribute finer rice to all white ration cardholders.
The minister also provided historical context regarding ration card distribution before and after the formation of Telangana. Before bifurcation, the Telangana region had 91.68 lakh ration cards for a beneficiary base of 3.38 crore people. Following the State's formation, 2.46 lakh cards were cancelled for beneficiaries who moved to Andhra Pradesh, he said.
"Between 2016 and 2023, Telangana issued 6.47 lakh new food security cards, benefiting 20.69 lakh people. Meanwhile, 5.98 lakh cards were cancelled after being deemed ineligible, resulting in a net addition of 86,000 beneficiaries over the past decade. Currently, the State has 89.95 lakh white ration cards covering 2.81 crore beneficiaries. Under the National Food Security Act, the Central government provides 54 lakh ration cards for 1.91 crore people, while the State supplements this with 35 lakh food security cards, benefiting an additional 89 lakh people. The new initiative, which includes the introduction of smart cards and finer rice distribution, aims to modernise the food distribution system and address long-standing gaps in food security," the minister claimed.