Ration cards have become popularity cards, observes SC

New Delhi: Observing that ration cards have become a “popularity card”, the Supreme Court on Wednesday wondered if the benefits meant for the poor percolated to undeserving persons.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh said the benefit of subsidies should reach the genuine beneficiaries. “Our concern is are benefits meant for the genuinely poor persons percolating to those pockets who do not deserve it? Ration card has become a popularity card now,” said Justice Surya Kant.

The judge went on, “These states just say we have issued these many cards. There are some states who when they have to show their development they say our per capita income is growing. And then when we talk of BPL, they say 75 per cent of the population is BPL. How can these facts be reconciled? The conflict is inherent. We have to ensure that benefits reach the genuine beneficiaries.”

The top court observed that states showed a high per capita growth when asked to highlight the development index but claimed 75 per cent of their population was below poverty line when it came to subsidies.

The bench was hearing a plea in a suo motu case initiated during the Covid-19 pandemic to address the miseries of migrant labourers.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for some intervenors, said the anomaly stemmed from the inequalities in the income of people. “There are a handful of people, who have huge wealth as compared to other population and per capita income figure is average of total income of the state. The rich continue to be getting richer while the poor remain poor,” he said.

The poor migrant workers, who are registered in the e-shram portal of the government, need to be given free ration and the figure was around eight crore people, Bhushan said.

Justice Surya Kant said, “We hope that in the issuance of ration cards, there are no political elements involved. I have not lost my roots. I always want to know the plight of the poor. There are families who continue to be poor.”

Bhushan said the Centre did not conduct the 2021 Census and was continuing to rely on data from the 2011 Census as a result around 10 crore people, requiring free ration, remained out of the BPL categories.