Supreme Court tells states: Implement one nation, one ration card by July 31
The top court directed that by July 31, states should bring a scheme to provide dry ration to migrant workers.
FollowThe Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered all states which have not implemented 'one nation one ration scheme' should do so by July 31, 2021
The order, passed by a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and MR Shah, came in a suo motu case concerning the welfare of migrant workers amid the Coronavirus pandemic filed by activists Harsh Mander, Anjali Bhardwaj and Jagdeep Chhokar.
The court directed that by July 31, states should bring a scheme to provide dry ration to migrant workers.
In separate directions, the Apex court directed the Centre to come up with a web portal in consultation with National Informatics Centre to register unorganised and migrant workers.
The judges told the central government to undertake an exercise under Section 9 of the National Food Security Act, 2013 to re-determine the total number of persons to be covered under the Rural and Urban areas of the state.
The bench also directed states and Union Territories to operate community kitchens till the end of the pandemic at prominent places where a large number of migrant labourers are found. The community kitchens will cater to those migrant labourers who do not have sufficient means to procure two meals a day.
To meet the requirements of the states and Union Territories and ensure that the top court's directives are followed, the Centre will have to provide the additional foodgrains to the administrations concerned.
