The Supreme Court on Friday asked the West Bengal government to immediately implement the ‘one nation one ration card’ scheme without any excuse saying that the state can’t give excuses as the scheme is meant for the benefit of migrant workers. The bench said, “You must implement the One Nation One Ration Card scheme,”
“You cannot cite one problem or other. This is for migrant workers, so they can avail welfare benefits under various government schemes,” Justice Justice M.R. Shah, accompanying Justice Ashok Bhushan on a Special Bench, told West Bengal, represented by advocate Liz Mathew. The exchange happened during a suo motu hearing on welfare measures for migrant labourers, especially during the hard times brought by the pandemic.
Part of the scheme, the beneficiaries of Centre’s public distribution system (PDS) will be able to draw ration from any biometric verification-enabled fair price shop across states and UTs. This national scheme has faced opposition from some states, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.
