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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Lack of Political Will, Not Grains, Is Why We Do Not Have Universal PDS -Shambhavi Sharma and Sourya Majumder

Lack of Political Will, Not Grains, Is Why We Do Not Have Universal PDS -Shambhavi Sharma and Sourya Majumder

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published Published on May 25, 2021   modified Modified on Jun 7, 2021

-TheWire.in

Can the Union government exercise its sovereignty in extending food subsidies to states during a historic crisis despite an enlarged fiscal deficit?

Some states have started responding to the Supreme Court’s directions on ensuring food security, cash transfers and transportation for migrant workers. It is time the Union government steps up.

In a suo moto hearing on May 13, the Supreme Court observed that migrant workers have once again been left in dire straits. The bench directed the Union, and state governments of Delhi, Haryana and UP, to provide income support, transportation and food rations without local ID cards. Since then, chief minister Kejriwal has promised food for Delhi’s distressed populace while Karnataka is considering a relief package to the unorganised sector welfare boards.

The petitioners in the Supreme Court have asked that PDS be extended to migrant workers under the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme. While applauding civil society organisations for stepping in, the Union government is yet to comply with the court’s directive.

On Monday, the court noted the slow progress made in creating a National Database for Unorganised Workers (NDUW), further directing that migrant workers across the country be registered on this portal for receiving benefits and penal action be initiated against employers and contractors who failed to provide details. The top court had directed the Union labour ministry to update the NDUW in 2018.

Ground realities

The 1.14 crore migrant workers who walked home last year, with scattered incidents of riots and resistance, had forced media attention onto themselves. But a more subterranean crisis lurks among India’s undocumented migrant workforce this time. Unlike March 2020, there is been no central directive restricting movement under the Epidemic Diseases Act. However, states have put in place staggered restrictions, starting with night curfews and weekend lockdowns, and now extending them on a fortnightly basis.

Reportedly, 23 crore more Indians have been pushed into poverty over the last year and 75 lakh lost their jobs this April. Lack of food and affordable urban housing, exacerbated by job losses, have kicked off another migrant exodus. CSOs running COVID-19 relief operations wrote to the Delhi government, on May 10, that over 15,000 SOS calls related to food scarcity had been received from 40 locations in the capital alone. (Disclosure: the authors are associated with Migrant Workers Solidarity Network, a signatory to this letter.)

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TheWire.in, 25 May, 2021, https://thewire.in/labour/migrant-workers-covid-19-universal-pds-food-subsidies


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