Implement 'One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC)' Scheme till July 31, SC Directs All States & UTs

NEW DELHI:

The Supreme Court of India has ordered states & union territories to implement a "One Nation, One Ration Card" (ONORC) program by July 31, according to the news agency PTI. A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah issued a whole slew of directives in response to a petition filed by three activists seeking directives to the Centre and states to ensure food security, cash transfers, and other welfare measures for migrant workers who faced distress during the second wave of COVID-19 due to curfews and lockdowns in various parts of the country. 

According to the bench, the One Nation, One Ration Card scheme is for the welfare of impoverished residents since it permits migratory employees to collect rations at their workplaces in other states where their ration cards are not recorded. 

On June 11, a bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah set aside its decision on the petitions of activists Anjali Bharadwaj, Harsh Mander, and Jagdeep Chhokar seeking the execution of welfare measures for migrant workers who have been adversely affected by the restrictions imposed during the second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic.  

While reserving the judgement, the court ordered the states and union territories (UTs) to adopt the "one nation, one ration card" (ONORC) scheme, which permits migratory workers to obtain rations at their workplaces in other states where their ration cards are not listed. 

The Centre had stated that, while the majority of states were implementing the ONORC, four of them — Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, and West Bengal — had not, and that implementation would be dependent on their technical preparedness. 

The court directed the central government to enlist the assistance of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in developing a portal that will contain a database for the registration of unorganised sector workers, adding that this process will smooth the process of granting benefits of welfare schemes to these workers by July 31. 

Furthermore, governments and union territories must provide community kitchens for migrant workers until the pandemic crisis declines, as per the Supreme Court. It asked the Centre to continue providing food grains to states and union territories for free distribution to migrant workers until the pandemic is over. 

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