Fine-Grain Rice to Enter PDS System as Tamil Nadu Faces Quality Concerns
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Thursday witnessed a heated exchange over the quality and consumption of rice distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS) during discussions on the demand for grants for the Food and Consumer Protection Department.
The debate intensified after Minister K A Sengottaiyan alleged that some beneficiaries were using PDS rice as feed for goats and poultry. The remark drew a sharp response from former DMK minister M R K Paneerselvam, who maintained that better-quality rice was supplied during the previous DMK regime.
Sengottaiyan, who also holds the Revenue and Disaster Management portfolio, said the government was taking steps to improve the quality of rice supplied through ration shops. He said fine-grain rice varieties would be introduced in the PDS system in the future to meet consumer preferences.
Intervening in the discussion, former minister K N Nehru defended the consumption of PDS rice, saying that doctors had advised some people to consume it because it could help in managing blood sugar levels. He questioned the comparison of ration rice with livestock feed.
PWD minister Aadhav Arjuna claimed that nearly 90 per cent of the public does not consume ration rice directly as a staple, but primarily uses it to prepare batter for idli and dosa. He said Chief Minister M K Stalin was keen on increasing fine-grain paddy production so that beneficiaries could consume PDS rice directly.
Arjuna also said that the government had succeeded in curbing earlier instances of rice smuggling.
AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami suggested that paddy procured at direct procurement centres should be sent immediately for milling to address quality concerns.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister P Venkataramanan assured the House that high-quality rice preferred by consumers would be supplied ahead of Diwali, signalling the government’s focus on improving the PDS food-grain supply.