Priority Ration Cards for All Eligible Families: Kerala Extends Application Deadline

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government will issue priority ration cards to all eligible families in the state, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil said, while announcing that the deadline for submitting online applications has been extended till the 24th. So far, 50,300 applications have been received.

Clarifying concerns over eligibility, the minister said families that do not fall under the exclusion criteria will be included in the priority list and will receive their entitled ration benefits. He was responding to reports that claimed 8,531 families, including extremely poor households, had been removed from the list.

The minister said such reports were misleading and explained that, under the Food Security Act, priority ration cards that remain unused for more than three consecutive months are reviewed. After verification, such cards may be shifted to the general category, and the resulting vacancies are filled by including other eligible families.

He also said the department publishes details of cards removed from the priority list on its website to maintain transparency in the process. During the tenure of the present government, a total of 6,03,845 ration cards have been reclassified and issued, including 58,487 yellow cards and 5,45,348 pink cards, the minister said.