Kottayam: Amid ongoing controversy over extreme poverty classifications, the state government has issued instructions to identify SC/ST families who are genuinely eligible but have not received priority ration cards. Although Kerala was declared a state with no ultra-poor, Ministers and elected representatives have been flagging the dire conditions of several extremely poor individuals during their field visits. The government fears that failure to complete this exercise may lead to a reduction in the quantity of free ration allotted to the state.

A total of 1.54 crore people in Kerala are eligible for yellow and pink cards—meant for the most economically backward households—and for free rations. The state’s central foodgrain quota is based on this estimate.

After the recent mustering process, a significant number of eligible beneficiaries were found to be missing from the priority list. At least 65,000 more ration cards can still be issued under this category. The state aims to bring at least one lakh more people under the free ration scheme. Among them, SC/ST families living in severe poverty must be identified and included. Applications have so far been received from 56,900 SC members and 2,040 ST members. The Food Department believes there are more such families who remain unidentified.

Preliminary assessments indicate that many living in the worst conditions were unaware of government schemes and therefore had not applied for priority cards. Food Minister G R Anil said he had personally come across such situations and has already taken steps to ensure eligible people are added.

Local body representatives and ration dealers have been directed to assist in identifying eligible SC/ST families. The Food Department cannot unilaterally change BPL criteria. Elderly SC individuals living alone—whose children have moved away after securing jobs—sometimes end up excluded from the BPL list. The government has ordered that such cases should not be judged solely by criteria; if a direct assessment shows severe hardship, a priority card must be issued.

Once the SC/ST verification is complete, economically distressed families from other communities will also be directly assessed and included in the priority list if found eligible.