Supreme Court On One Nation One Ration Card – Supreme Court’s instructions on One Nation, One Ration Card, concern for migrant laborers

The strict instructions issued by the Supreme Court to take the One Nation, One Ration Card scheme on the ground are very important. One can easily imagine the tragic situation of migrant labor families who have lost their livelihood due to the pandemic. Ration and water should be arranged for every such family and for every member of the family at the same place where they are living. So there can be no doubt in the usefulness and necessity of the scheme of One Nation, One Ration Card. But the question arises about ensuring its effective implementation. On this question, the Supreme Court has slammed the central and state governments and criticized their efforts so far.

Keep in mind, the court started hearing on this Suomoto case in May last year in view of the plight of migrant labor families during the nationwide lockdown. Meanwhile, there was a lot of talk on the One Nation, One Ration Card scheme, claims were also being made to extend the benefits of the scheme to the migrant laborers, but the benefits will reach only when these migrant laborers are registered. There is negligence on the part of the governments on this front.

The court has asked the central government to complete the work of preparing a national database of workers in the unorganized sector by July 31. Other unfinished works related to infrastructure will also have to be completed in the meantime. For example, even in a state like Delhi, EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) has not been introduced in PDS shops. Since without this the real time identity of the ration card holder cannot be ensured, therefore the system cannot be implemented that a laborer from UP or Bihar gets ration in Mumbai, Bangalore or Chennai and his family gets it in his village shop. Keep meeting.

It is also worth noting that the laws under which the Supreme Court has asked to ensure this facility for the families of migrant laborers are years old. The National Food Security Act has been in existence since 2013, the Inter State Migrant Workmen Act 1979 and the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act 2008. It is clear that the making of a law and the realization of the benefit of that law to all concerned are two completely different things. At least with the strict stand of the Supreme Court in this matter, it is expected that by the end of this month, all necessary arrangements will be made and this facility will be extended to the migrant laborers. If this happens, then it will be called a big achievement, but it is also necessary that in all such cases, effective efforts should be made to go beyond the paper claims of the governments to ensure that the benefits of government schemes actually reach all the needy people.