The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre and states to ensure that an estimated eight crore migrant labourers across the country are registered with the eShram portal and issued ration cards within three months.

Such a move would ensure that the migrants receive benefits under the public distribution system, including schemes like the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

A bench of Justices M.R. Shah and Ahsanuddin Amanullah passed the order while dealing with a joint application filed by activists Anjali Bhardwaj, Harsh Mander and Jagdeep Chhokkar alleging that crores of migrant workers and unorganised labourers were being deprived of basic food materials due to lack of ration cards. Only those allotted cards on the basis of the 2011 census data are being given the benefits.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, complained that more than 10 crore people had been deprived of the benefit of the National Food Security Act because ration cards had not been issued to them. He said the country’s population had increased drastically since the 2011 census.

In a status report submitted through additional solicitor-general Aishwarya Bhati, the Centre informed the court that out of 28.60 crore registrants on eShram, 20.63 crore were already registered for ration cards. Of these, approximately 3.82 crore people were also beneficiaries of PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Bhati, however, told the court that each state has its own policies for issuance of ration cards. She said the states and Union Territories would have to take further steps to issue ration cards to those registered with eShram but do not have the document.

The court then passed the following order:

“We appreciate the exercise undertaken by the UOI with the assistance of the respective states/ UTs for registration of the migrants/ unorganised workers on eShram portal. 28.60 crore migrants/ unorganised workers are registered on eShram portal which is a commendable job. However, out of 28.60 registrants on eShram, 20.63 crores are registered on ration card data. Meaning thereby, the rest registrants on eShram are still without ration cards.

“Without the ration card a migrant/ unorganised 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 expedited.

“As the Union of India and the concerned State/ UT now already have the data of the registrants on eShram portal and will be having the required information, the State/ UT shall reach them so that they can be issued the ration cards and that their names are registered on ration card data.”

The court added: “At present, we give further three months’ time to the concerned State/ UT to undertake the exercise to issue ration cards to the left-out registrants on eShram portal by giving wide publicity and 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.... Put up on 03.10.2023 so as to enable the Union of India to file further status report."