States Must Implement ''One Nation, One Ration Card'' Scheme: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Friday said states and union territories must implement "one nation, one ration card" (ONORC) scheme as it allows migrant workers to get ration at the place of their work in other states as well where their ration cards are not registered.

The top court also took strong note of the delay in development of a software meant to register workers of unorganized sector to create a national database and posed queries to the Centre as to how the benefit of free food grain till November this year under the ''Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna'' would reach the migrant labourers having no ration cards.

A vacation bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah also reserved its verdict on a fresh application filed by activists - Anjali Bharadwaj, Harsh Mander and Jagdeep Chhokar - seeking directions to the Centre and states to ensure food security, cash transfers, transport facilities and other welfare measures for the migrant workers on grounds that they are in dire need for help as the crisis is bigger this time.

The bench asked the Centre, the petitioner activists and the states to file written notes in the matter.

The application was filed in the pending suo motu case of 2020 on the issue of problems faced by migrant workers due to curbs clamped in country amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that states like Delhi, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Assam have not implemented the "one nation, one ration card" (ONORC) scheme so far.

The counsel for Delhi, however, opposed the submission saying it has been implemented.

On being told by the counsel for West Bengal that there were certain issues with seeding with the Aadhaar numbers, the bench shot back saying, "You must implement it. This is for the welfare for migrant workers who can get ration in every state".

The bench said that it was concerned with as to how those migrant workers, who do not have ration cards, would be able to avail the benefits of welfare schemes.

"What about the registration of workers of unorganized sectors. Why should development of a software take so long. You initiated it perhaps in August, last year and it is still not over," the bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati who was also appearing for the Centre.

The bench asked as to why the Centre still needed some more months for making the software which can help preparing a national data of workers.

"Why do you still need three-four months. You are not conducting any survey - but you are only creating a module so that data can be fed to your mechanism," it observed.

The mechanism, which is being made, will be "robust" and this would help authorities in "monitoring and supervision" of the schemes.

"Why will it take so many months. You are only preparing a software for creating the national database," the bench observed.

At the outset, senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the activists, said the welfare schemes be must be extended to all those who do not have the ration cards as the problems this year is graver.

In response, the Solicitor General submitted that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna has been extended to November this year and free five kilo grams of food grains per month would be provided to each member of such families and moreover, the other welfare schemes have to be formulated and implemented by states.