Chennai, July 8:
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India on Tuesday urged the Union government to withdraw the proposed amendments to the National Food Security Act, alleging that the changes would reduce food grain entitlements for lakhs of poor families under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme in Tamil Nadu.
The proposed amendment by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution seeks to replace the current system of providing 35 kg of free food grains per AAY family every month with a per-person allocation of 7 kg, subject to a maximum cap of 35 kg per household. Under this revised formula, smaller families would receive less than they currently do, while larger families would see no increase beyond the existing cap.
Left leaders pointed out that a single-member family would get only 7 kg, a two-member family 14 kg, and a four-member family 28 kg. Families with more than five members would continue to receive 35 kg, but households with fewer members would face a cut in their monthly entitlement compared to the present system.
CPI(M) leader Shanmugam warned that the amendment could significantly reduce the quantity of food grains allocated to states under the AAY scheme, adversely impacting the poorest and most vulnerable sections who rely heavily on the public distribution system. In Tamil Nadu alone, around 18.64 lakh AAY ration cards cover nearly 69–70 lakh beneficiaries who could be affected if the changes are implemented.
CPI leader Veerapandian also raised concerns that the monthly supply of rice, wheat and millets provided free by the Union government to the state could drop sharply—from about 65,261 metric tonnes to 42,040 metric tonnes. He backed C Joseph Vijay in reportedly appealing to Narendra Modi to reconsider the proposal, urging the Centre to withdraw the amendment in the interest of food security for the poor.