'One Nation, One Ration Card' aims to empower NFSA migrant beneficiaries: Centre to SC

The Centre on Monday explained Supreme Court how the 'One Nation One Ration Card' (ONORC) plan is made to empower all National Food Security Act (NFSA) migrant beneficiaries through sufficient production of foodgrains that will be accessible to beneficiaries. The recipients will be able to get the foodgrains from any fair price shop, anywhere in the country by using their existing ration card with biometric authentication and the plan makes food security "portable". 

The Government further quoted that States have been directed to ensure distribution to the eligible beneficiaries as the responsibility to successfully implement the scheme lies with it.

"All the States/UTs have been advised through the communications dated May 20, 2021, and May 25, 2021, to avail their requirements of foodgrains through the mentioned schemes, to provide foodgrains to those who are not covered under the NFSA including migrants/stranded migrants, as per locally assessed requirements," added the affidavit submitted by the Centre. 

The Centre had submitted the affidavit in favour of the migrants who according to the union government faced issues amid prevailing condition of coronavirus pandemic. The scheme has been constructed so that the migrants can avail benefits under government schemes. 

The Centre has assured the top court that for now 80 Crore NFSA beneficiaries will be able to lift their foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of choice but the goal is to 'enable migratory NFSA beneficiaries (mostly laborers, daily-wagers, urban poor like rag-pickers, street-dwellers, temporary workers in organized and unorganized sectors, domestic workers, etc.) who frequently travel in search of better opportunities or for any other reasons, to access the Public Distribution System (PDS) and if they desire, may lift their entitled foodgrains from any ePoS enabled FPS in the country through portability'. 

States receiving benefits of ONORC plan

The Centre also presented the data of states where the plan is getting covered benefiting 69 Crore NFSA beneficiaries, i.e. 86 percent NFSA population. Those states and UT which are still left to implement the scheme include Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, and West Bengal which are expected to be achieved, depending upon the technical readiness of these States. 

On the political front, Centre clarified that accusations made by the Delhi Government 'regarding the launch of ONORC plan in Delhi are misleading'. 

"Only a handful of transactions conducted in a single circle with about 42 ePoS machines cannot be considered as an implementation of ONORC. Further, unless the national portability transactions are rolled out formally in all the FPSs of all Circles of NCT Delhi, in which more than 2000 ePoS machines have been supplied and waiting for the operation, it cannot be considered as implementation of ONORC," added the affidavit. 

Adding that a very large number of inter-State migrants are present all across Delhi who have still not received the benefits, Centre said that 'there is no full implementation of ONORC and reporting of such transactions/distribution details of NFSA/PMGKAY foodgrains on the central portals dashboards'. 

The affidavit concluded with mention of the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-III) under which foodgrains have been allocated to all the States/UTs for free of cost.
 

(With ANI inputs)