Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday announced an allocation of Rs 248.6 crore to provide Pongal gift hampers to 2.23 crore ration card holders who are entitled to rice through fair price shops, reports The New Indian Express.
Each gift hamper will include one kilogram of raw rice, one kilogram of sugar and a full-length sugarcane.
An order issued by the Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department cleared the purchase of raw rice at a rate of Rs 25 per kg, while sugar will be procured at Rs 48.549 per kg. The cost of one sugarcane has been fixed at about Rs 38, covering harvesting and transport expenses.
Based on these rates, the government has earmarked Rs 55.73 crore for rice, Rs 108.22 crore for sugar and Rs 84.71 crore for sugarcane procurement.
In recent weeks, several political parties, including some partners of the ruling DMK, had appealed to the government to add sugarcane to the Pongal gift hampers as a measure to support sugarcane farmers in the state.
Apart from the 2.23 crore ration card holders, Sri Lankan refugees living in rehabilitation camps across Tamil Nadu will also receive the Pongal gift hampers. Official sources said the distribution is likely to begin in about a week.
Last year, during the Pongal festival in 2025, the state government had spent Rs 249.78 crore to distribute similar hampers to more than 2.2 crore ration card holders.
