The Supreme Court has given three months more time to the states and union territories for not providing ration cards to migrant laborers. This time has been given to provide ration cards to the registered migrant laborers on the e-Shram portal.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and Ehsanuddin Amanullah said that wide publicity should be given to give ration cards to migrant laborers registered on the portal of the Union Ministry of Labor and Employment. This will give them benefits under the National Food Security Act.
The Supreme Court has given this order on an application filed by petitioners Anjali Bhardwaj, Harsh Mander and Jagdeep Chhokkar. In their application, these people had talked about the fact that ration should be given to migrant laborers under NFSA.
It is also necessary to reach every thirsty well: SC
Earlier, the SC had on April 17 said that the central and state governments cannot deny ration cards to migrant workers merely on the ground that the population ratio under the NFSA has not been worked out properly.
The apex court had said that it is the duty of the government to reach out to the people in a welfare state. During this, the bench also said, “We are not saying that the government has failed to perform its duty or there has been any negligence.
However, assuming that some people have been left out, the central and state governments should see to it that they get ration cards.” It added that it is the government’s job to ensure that the scheme reaches the needy and sometimes “every It is also necessary to reach the well to the thirsty”.
How effective is the e-labor portal for migrant laborers?
According to a data presented in the court, 28.86 crore workers have registered on the e-labor portal meant for unorganized sector workers such as construction workers, migrant laborers, street vendors and domestic helps.
In this, data is being shared between 24 states and their labor departments. Preliminary data mapping has been done. Around 20 crore people are beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act, who are registered on the portal. NFSA is a joint effort on the part of the Central and State Governments.”
