'COVID was different': SC bemoans distribution of free ration

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday flagged the difficulties surrounding the distribution of freebies and said COVID times were different when distressed migrant workers were provided the relief.

In a judgment on June 29, 2021, and subsequent orders, the top court passed a slew of directions to the authorities asking them to undertake welfare measures, including giving ration cards to all migrant workers, who were distressed during the COVID-19 pandemic, registered with the “e-Shram” portal.

The portal was a comprehensive national database of unorganised workers launched by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment with the primary aim to facilitate delivery of welfare benefits and social security measures to unorganised sector workers across the country.

On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan was informed by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for an NGO seeking free ration for all the migrant workers, the court directed the Centre to provide free ration and ration cards to all those workers, who are registered on the portal.

Justice Kant said, “Ration card is an important official document which is associated with the identity and entitlement of a person but the difficulties arise when we indulge in freebies. COVID time was something different but now, we have to look into it.” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, objected to Bhushan’s submission and argued the government was bound by the National Food Security Act of 2013 and whatever entitlement was statutorily provided would be given.

He said there were certain NGOs who did not work on the ground during the pandemic and he could state on affidavit that the petitioner NGO was one among them.

Bhushan said as the Centre relied on data from the 2011 census for migrant workers and hadn’t conducted a census in 2021, actual figures were not available with it.

“There is a jump in figures by at least 20 per cent and that is why this court had directed that despite the mandate of Food Security Act, the government can go beyond the ambit to provide relief to the migrant workers registered on e-shram portal,” said Bhushan.

The bench said the litigation was not an adversarial one and the court would try to find out a common ground to accommodate both the parties.

The matter will be heard on December 9.

On September 2, the top court asked the Centre to file an affidavit giving details about compliance of its 2021 judgement and subsequent directions on providing ration cards and other welfare measures to migrant workers.

The top court was hearing an application in the suo motu (on its own motion) case, registered during peak COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure welfare of distressed migrant workers, who were forced to flee Delhi and other places during lockdowns.

The Centre previously said it was providing ration to all those people who were eligible under the National Food Security Act.

The top court, in the 2021 judgement, termed as “unpardonable” the Centre’s “apathy and lackadaisical attitude” towards creating the national database for unorganised workers and ordered its commencement by July 31, 2021 for the registration of all migrant workers and providing them with welfare measures.

It had ordered the states and union territories to frame schemes for providing free dry ration to them till the pandemic lasted, while asking the Centre to allocate additional foodgrains and directing the department concerned to “allocate and distribute food grains” to migrant labourers”.

The case was registered in 2020 after the apex court took cognisance of the issues of migrant labourers.