SC directs for providing dry ration, cooked meals to stranded workers

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the authorities to ensure that migrant workers, wherever stranded in the country due to Covid-19 situation, should be provided with dry ration under the Atma Nirbhar Scheme or any other scheme. It also directed all the States and Union Territories to make operational the community kitchen for the stranded migrant workers.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah, which directed for providing dry ration and cooked meal earlier on May 13 for the workers stuck in National Capital Region, extended the benefit of its order across the country.

The court passed its direction in a Suo Motu related to problems and miseries of migrant labourers.

It also expressed its concern over slow process of registering workers from unorganised sector, wondering how they would get benefits of various schemes without having themselves listed in central database.

The top court said the process of registration of unorganised workers should be "completed as early as possible and there should be Common National Database for all organised workers situate in different States in the entire country".

It asked the Centre why there is no national data on workers of unorganised sector. The court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to expedite the process of registration of such workers by the Ministry of Labour as directed in a separate matter in 2018.

"We are of the view that for accessing of any benefit percolating from any scheme framed by the Centre or the States for the benefit of unorganised workers or migrant workers, registration of workers is essential," the bench said.

The court emphasised that data and the portal are essential to ensure benefits reach the needy during the lockdown.

"There shall be suitable mechanism to monitor and supervise whether the benefits of the welfare schemes reach the beneficiaries which may be from grassroots levels to higher authorities with names and places of beneficiaries," the bench said.

"On paper, we see government has spent thousands of crores, but the concern is that whether it is reaching the needy persons," the bench observed during the hearing.

The court, however, refused to issue any direction to the Centre and States for direct cash transfer to such workers, who lost their work during the restrictions imposed during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, saying it was a policy decision for the government.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for activist Anjali Bharadwaj and others, contended cash transfer was a must to provide succour to the migrant workers as the situation was grim.