Khushi Bajpai
Published on: 22 July,2022 at 17:44 IST
The Supreme Court stated that it is the responsibility of the Center and states to reach out to them in order to provide relief rather than waiting for them to approach. The Court expressed concern that people in the country are still dying from hunger despite the National Food Security Act.
It is a reality that many individuals are obliged to tie cloths tightly over their stomachs and the stomachs of their children to suppress hunger and prevent the sensation of hunger because they cannot afford food.
According to a Bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna stated that, “Much more work needed to be done on that front, particularly by the state governments, to provide help to such families.”
During a case involving the hardship of migrant labourers that it had taken suo motu cognizance of during the Covid 19 outbreak, the court made such observations. The Court ruled that governments should be proactive in defending the rights of migrant workers because they, like farmers, play a crucial part in the development of nations. It stated that the states must take action to distribute ration cards to all migrant workers and that they should be covered by the PDS system to receive discounted food grains.
Aishwarya Bhati, Additional Solicitor General for the Centre, stated that although the federal government was doing its utmost to assist immigrants, the States still required some encouragement.
She told the Panel that as of July 11, there were around 27.9 crore unorganised labourers or migratory workers registered on the e-shram website. Based on the 2011 census, she said that NFSA covers 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population.
However, the Bench argued that because of the rise in population during the previous ten years, the NFSA should be expanded to include more people.