Telangana minister: Ration card drive to cover all eligible families

Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Wednesday that Telangana is distributing rice to beneficiaries on a scale not seen in any other State in the country. He was speaking at a programme to distribute new smart ration cards in Sangareddy.

The Minister said rice worth ₹14,800 crore is being distributed to 3.42 crore people across the State. He added that the number of ration cards has increased substantially from the 89 lakh issued during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.

Mr. Reddy described the issue of ration cards as a continuous process, assuring that eligible beneficiaries will continue to be covered. He also criticised BRS leaders for what he called repeated false claims about the government's welfare programmes.

Health Minister Damodar Raja Narsimha, who also attended the event, said protecting the poor is the responsibility of the government. He noted that the Congress party has historically distributed nearly 25 lakh acres of land to the poor and introduced several welfare schemes and laws at the national level. He urged Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to develop the Singur project in Sangareddy district as a tourist destination.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said smart ration cards represent food security, government identity and dignity for families. He said Telangana is implementing several welfare schemes that are not available in other States.

District in-charge Minister G. Vivek Venkataswamy said the government is providing bonuses to farmers growing millets and other small grains to encourage their cultivation. He said the Congress government is fulfilling its election promise of providing incentives to such farmers.

Mr. Venkataswamy also said the government is taking steps to create employment opportunities for youth and establish technology centres equipped with advanced facilities. Efforts are being made to facilitate overseas employment for unemployed youth through organisations such as TomTom, he added.

The event was attended by MP Suresh Kumar Shetkar, MLAs Sanjeeva Reddy and Naveen Yadav, former MLA T. Jayaprakash Reddy (Jagga Reddy), Corporation chairperson Nirmala Jagga Reddy, and former Minister A. Chandrasekhar, among others.

The distribution of smart ration cards is part of the State government's ongoing effort to modernise the public distribution system and ensure that all eligible families receive their entitlements. The government has said that the new cards will help in better targeting of subsidies and reducing leakage.