AIADMK flags lack of wheat in ration shops; TN govt to supply by mid-Nov

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami flagged the lack of wheat stock at the fair price shops across Tamil Nadu, prompting the state government to respond by assuring the supplies by November 15.

State Food and Civil Supplies Minister R Sakkarapani, in reply to Palaniswami's claim that wheat was not available in 12,573 ration shops, has said that the state government has been continuously requesting the Centre to allocate more wheat to Tamil Nadu.

From January 2024 to September 2024, only 8,576 metric tonnes of wheat was allotted by the union government on a monthly basis. Following Chief Minister M K Stalin's insistence, wheat allocation to the state was increased to 17,100.38 metric tonnes from October 2024 to February 2025, Sakkarapani said.

This was being distributed to the general public in fair price shops without any hindrance. Currently, the Centre has reduced the wheat quota to the previous quantum of allotment, he said in a statement here on November 9.

The average consumption percentage of wheat in the last three months has been recorded as 92 per cent. Up to November 8, 63 per cent (5,386 metric tons) of wheat was shifted to the fair price shops. All the items should be sent to the shops by the 20th of every month based on availability and consumption, he said.

However, 100 per cent of the wheat will be shifted to the fair price shops by November 15 and the commodity will be provided to the public without any hindrance, Sakkarapani assured.

Earlier, in a post on the social media platform X', the former Chief Minister said reports indicated that wheat was not available for the ration cardholders in 12,753 ration shops across the state.

Reports say the central government has allocated 8,722 tonnes of wheat but the Stalin-model DMK government has not distributed it properly to the ration shops. When there was already a shortage of dal and palm oil, this government acted very laxly despite being warned, Palaniswami alleged and condemned the state government for total failure in not ensuring the supply of essential commodities at the fair price shops.