Skip to main content

Delhi govt 'refusal' to provide food to non-ration card holders: HC issues notice

By A Representative
The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Delhi government on a petition to continue food security scheme for those without ration cards. The petitioner, Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyaan (DRRAA), challenged the state’s alleged discontinuance of the scheme of distribution of food grain to non-ration card holders, in vogue for two months, said this is in violation of the right to food and right to life of lakhs of residents of the city amidst Covid-19 crisis.
Insisting that the “discontinuance” has taken place despite “directions” the Court, the petitioner, represented by senior advocate Sanjay Parikh and Prasanna S, said, in April 2020, the Delhi government under the Mukhya Mantri Corona Sahayta Yojna (MMCSY) set up the e-coupon system for giving rations to 10 lakh people, which was subsequently revised to 30 lakh people not covered under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
However, on on June 9, 2020 the state government issued an order to close all hunger relief centres which were providing hot cooked meals free of cost. The result is, lakhs of people, especially those in the informal sector, have been left with no food security net at a time when they are struggling to find employment.
While the Government of India extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) till November 2020 for the existing ration cardholders for an additional 5 kg grains per person and 1 kg of pulse per household free of cost, and the Delhi government began to implement this, the petition said, not providing rations to others merely because they do not possess a ration card is a gross violation of Article 14.

Comments

Post a Comment

NOTE: Hateful, abusive comments won't be published. -- Editor

TRENDING

Sardar made up his mind on Pakistan in Dec 1946 "before" Mountbatten's Partition Plan

By Hari Desai* One has to be extra cautious while dealing with the history of towering personalities of the Indian freedom struggle, especially that of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (October 31, 1875 - December 15, 1950). Present-day politicians prefer to "pronounce” on his life and quote him according to their convenience like a blind person describing an elephant.
2 comments
»

To Sonam Wangchuk: 'Will undertake 70 hour solidarity fast in Gujarat'

By Martin Macwan *  Dear Colleague Sonam Wangchuk, I have never met you personally. I wrote a short article at the time of your arrest. Your work correctly introduces you. There is truth in your words. You have embarked on a fast, following the footsteps of Gandhiji. Your intention is to make people think. Your demand is reasonable; I believe that the resignation of a single education minister will not improve the state of education in India. However, the question you have raised is extremely important for the future generation of the marginalized. Education is the key to power, development, and progress, which empowers a citizen.
Post a Comment
»

Remembering Rampur ka Tiraha: State violence and the birth of Uttarakhand’s struggle

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  In the turbulent political landscape of the early 1990s, India witnessed events that reshaped its social and regional equations. After the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, Uttar Pradesh politics shifted dramatically, bringing the Samajwadi Party–Bahujan Samaj Party coalition to power in 1993 under Mulayam Singh Yadav. But the partnership was uneasy. Mulayam was never entirely comfortable playing the “Mandal card.” While Kanshi Ram and the BSP had consistently demanded the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations, Mulayam hesitated, wary of how the move might play out.
Post a Comment
»