Supreme Court Directions on Migrants Without Ration Cards

What is the News? The Supreme Court of India has given directions to the Centre to provide benefits to crores of migrant labourers without ration cards.

What is the issue?

During a hearing of PIL for schemes on migrant workers, SC raised the following concerns regarding benefits to migrant workers.

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• The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana does not cover the migrant workers who do not have the ration cards. Then how the migrant labourers without ration cards will receive the food.
  • The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana aims to ensure sufficient food for the poor and needy during the coronavirus crisis.
• Why the centre is delaying the completion of a national database to identify and register migrant workers.
  • Center put forward the delay in software database as a reason behind that.

What are the directions by SC given to the government?

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• Firstly, the Central Government and the State Governments should complete the registration process of the National Database for Unorganised Workers(NDUW).
  • The database would make it easier for the government to identify and provide food and dry rations to stranded migrant labourers and workers.
• Secondly, all States must implement the” One Nation One Ration Card” scheme. The scheme allows migrant labourers to get ration benefits from any part of the country, irrespective of the place where their ration card is registered.

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Source: The Hindu