Chennai: In PDS racket, shopkeepers eye margins on 'idle' cards

CHENNAI: In what appears to be a widespread and lucrative racket, employees of PDS shops have been making a killing by purchasing commodities through rarely used ration cards and selling them to private retailers at huge margins of profit.
The swindle was uncovered after PDS card-holders in the city reported that they have been receiving mystifying SMS acknowledgements of purchases they've made of essential items like rice and dal.The iffy thing was, they said, they hadn't made any purchases or even visited their local ration shops for a long time.
Kovilambakkam resident D Govardan said he received an SMS from the ration shop in the neighbourhood informing him that he'd purchased 2kg of sugar, 20kg of boiled rice and 1kg of tur dal.
"I haven't been to the ration shop in months," he said. "When I questioned the shopkeepers, they casually told me that it was routine practice for them to identify 'idle' PDS cards - whose holders have not used them for long periods of time - and make large purchases in the name of the card-holders."
"The staff sell the subsidised goods to retail outlets and make big profits," Govardan said, visibly vexed at the scam. "Now I will not be able to make any purchases myself because they've used my PDS quota for everything from rice and dal to palm oil and kerosene shops." He said it is blatant looting of people most of whom, because they are economically underprivileged, need subsidies on essential commodities.
In Thiruvanmiyur, Rajesh Chandran received an SMS from his Besant Nagar PDS shop stating that he had purchased a packet of palm oil for `25 when he did not even go to the outlet.
Chandran said he was very surprised when he first got these messages, but soon figured out that the shopkeepers were up to no good.
An employee of a PDS shop in Kodambakkam, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that he and his fellow-workers were also part of the racket and sold essential commodities from PDS shops to small restaurants and eateries for a good profit.
Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation officials said they have received complaints about such cases and are making efforts to sort out the issue and put an end to the racket.