New Delhi : Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that all states must implement the “one nation, one ration card” scheme – which enables migrant workers to avail ration benefits from any part of the country by July 31. Court also passed a slew of other directions for the benefit and welfare of migrant workers.
A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and MR Shah passed the order in the suo-moto case ‘In Re Problems and Miseries of Migrant Labourers’. With the above directions, the bench disposed of the suo-moto case.
On March 24, the bench had ordered that States and Union Territories should provide dry ration and run community kitchens for migrant labourers who are stranded due to the COVID pandemic and the lockdown. The bench had also directed the Centre and the States to complete the registration of migrants and unorganized workers in the common national data base so that they can avail of the various statutory welfare schemes.
The suo-moto case, which was taken by the Supreme Court in May 2020 to deal with the problems of migrant workers during the national lockdown, was listed again for consideration in May this year during the second wave of the pandemic.
