New Delhi: The Supreme Court on tuesday directed states and union territories to implement a ‘one nation, one ration card’ scheme till July 31.the States, who have not yet implemented “One Nation One Ration Card” scheme are directed to implement the same by not later than 31 July, the Court said.
The Supreme court stated that “When the unorganized workers are waiting for registration and are waiting to reap the benefit of various welfare schemes of the States and Centre, the apathy and lackadaisical attitude by the Ministry of Labour and Employment is unpardonable. There was urgency in the portal to be finalized and implemented looking to the pandemic and dire need of unorganized workers to receive the benefit.”
The attitude of Ministry of Labour and Employment in not completing the module even though directed as early as on 21 Aug 2018 shows that Ministry is not alive to the concern of the migrant workers and the non-action of the Ministry is strongly disapproved, the court added.
The Supreme Court in its order said that “the States to bring in place an appropriate scheme for distribution of dry ration to migrant labourers for which it shall be open for States to ask for allocation of additional food grains from the Central Government, which, as directed above, shall provide the additional food grains to the State.
The Supreme Court further stated that the State and Union Territories are directed to run community kitchens at prominent places where large number of migrant labourers are found for feeding those migrant labourers who does not have sufficient means to procure two meals a day. The running of the community kitchen should be continued at-least till pandemic (Covid-19) continues.
The Supreme Court also directed the Central Government to develop the Portal in consultation with National Informatics Centre (NIC) for registration of the unorganized labourers/migrant workers. The Central Government as well as the respective States and the Union Territories to complete the process of Portal for registration under National Data Base for Unorganised Workers (NDUW Project) as well as implement the same, which by all means may commence not later than 31July, the court added.
The Supreme court also directed States and Union Territories to register all establishments and license all contractors under the Act, 1979 and ensure that statutory duty imposed on the contractors to give particulars of migrant workers is fully complied with.
The Central Government having undertaken to distribute additional quantity of food grains as demanded by the States/Union Territories for distribution to migrant labourers under some Scheme framed by the States, we direct the Central Government, Department of Food and Public Distribution (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution) to allocate and distribute food grains as per demand of additional food-grains from the States for disbursement of dry food grains to migrant labourers, the court said.