Chennai: It has been a tradition for long that ration cards have a male as the family head, but now, sources say, women of the family may also be accepted as head of family.

There are a total of 2.05 crore ration card-holders in the state. With the National Food Security Act being implemented from November 1, it is said the Food Department will be segregating the cards into two types based on priority. People below the poverty line, pensioners and those living in huts will be part of the priority list, while those living in buildings, and people with two cylinders will fall in the non-priority list.

Explaining the process, a food department official said that close to 3.25 lakh tonnes of rice is being given to ration card-holders in the state, of which 65,000 tonnes of rice is bought for Rs 3 under the Antyodhaya Anna Yojana scheme of the Central government. In the BPL category, 1.05 lakh tonnes were purchased at Rs 5.65 per kg; among the APL, 1.26 tonnes was procured at Rs 8.30 per kg.

The remaining quantity was purchased at above Rs 19 per kg. Now, after the Food Safety Act is implemented, the Central government will give BPL rice at Rs 3 per kg and the APL will be given rice at Rs 22.50.

“Similarly, the free rice which is being provided based on the number of members in a family will not be changed and will continue as usual,” the official added. The priority cards will have women as the family head, while the non-priority cards can choose their family head. The official announcement regarding this is expected soon.