The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and states to come out with a national database for unorganised workers to enable them to avail of various benefits like dry ration, as in the absence of such data the welfare measures do not percolate to them, especially during the present Covid-19 crisis.

The apex court while passing a slew of directions, including setting up of community kitchens across the country for migrants, also asked the Centre and the states to create a suitable mechanism to monitor the implementation of the welfare schemes by the higher authorities.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and M.R. Shah said in an order: “We also impress upon the central government and the state governments to complete the process of registration… at an early date so that unorganised workers are able to reap the benefit of different schemes of the Centre and the states, which without proper registration and identity card seems to be difficult to implement on the ground.

“Learned SG (solicitor-general Tushar Mehta) may file a detailed affidavit with regard to above and as observed by us and a National Database for unorganised workers undertaken by the central government under the ministry of labour and employment with collaboration and coordination of the states should be completed at an early date. We grant two weeks’ time to Union of India to file an affidavit with the above regard.”

“We are further of the view that there shall be suitable mechanism to monitor and supervise whether the benefits of the welfare schemes reach the beneficiaries which may be from grass root levels to higher authorities with names & places of beneficiaries so that the purposes for (which) such schemes are floated is achieved,” the bench added.

The court passed the order while dealing with a batch of applications filed by social activists highlighting the pitiable state of lakhs of migrants facing untold hardship on account of the pandemic.

It asked all states to file affidavits indicating the mechanism by which dry ration should be distributed to the migrant workers who do not possess a ration card.

The states have to also respond on whether the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme of the Centre, which was implemented for giving dry ration to migrant workers in May and June last year, is to be revived again or some other scheme has to be utilised for this process.

“We, thus, direct that migrant workers wherever stranded throughout the country should be provided the dry ration under the AtmaNirbhar scheme or any other scheme is found suitable by the States/Centre,” the bench said.

The bench said it is also the responsibility of states/Union Territories to provide community kitchens to the stranded migrant workers, who have lost their employment and are in need of two meals a day.

The bench said: “… we direct all the States/Union Territories to make operational the community kitchen to the stranded migrant workers wherever they may be situated in the country. There shall be wide publicity with respect

to the various schemes including the places of community kitchens so that such needy persons may in fact take benefits.”

However, on the issue of direct cash transfer to the migrants, the bench said the issue should be left to the discretion of the respective states/UTs and the court would not interfere in such policy matters.

“… although few States have made schemes for direct cash transfer to construction workers and different amounts from Rs 1,000/- to Rs 6,000/- have been transferred but no such direct transfer scheme is in place with regard to other unorganised workers.

“We are of the view that cash transfer is a matter of policy and scheme framed by each State/Union Territory and no direction for cash transfer can be issued by this Court to any category of person unless they are covered by any scheme formulated by the State/Union Territory,” the bench said.