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The matter will now be heard on October 3, wherein Union of India has been directed to file further status report.
Supreme Court has granted three months’ time to the States and UTs across the country to undertake the exercise to issue ration cards to the left out migrant labourers who are registered on eShram portal by giving wide publicity.
The eShram portal is meant to register and support the unorganised/migrant workers by providing them with a Universal Account Number (UAN).
"...the concerned State/UT to approach them through the office of the concerned Collector of the District so that more and more registrants on eShram portal are issued the ration cards and so that they may get the benefit of the benevolent schemes floated by the UOI and the State Government including the benefit under the National Food Security Act", a bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar has added.
The Central government had submitted a status report, before the Top Court stating that against the total target of 38,37,42,394 migrants, 28,86,23,993 migrants had already registered their names on eShram portal.
Court was further told that that the Ministry of Labour and Employment had developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to share eShram portal data with States and Union Territories (UTs).
It was further submitted that out of 28.60 crores registrants on eShram, 20.63 crores were also registered on Ration Card Data.
Noting that the rest registrants on eShram were still without ration cards, Court said,
"Without the ration card a migrant/unorganized labourer or his family members may be deprived of the benefit of the schemes and may be the benefit under the National Food Security Act. Therefore, being a welfare State, it is the duty of the concerned State/UT to see that the remaining registrants on eShram, who are still not registered on ration card data and who are not issued the ration cards, they are issued ration cards and the exercise for issuance of ration cards is required to be expediated."
Observing that the Union of India and the concerned State already have the data of the registrants on eShram portal, Court asked them to reach out so that they can be issued the ration cards and that their names are registered on ration card data.
Case Title: In Re Problems and Miseries of Migrant Labourers
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