The High Court of Karnataka on Monday said the State government should implement, in true letter and spirit, the directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on March 29 for protecting the interests of migrant workers. The court said the government should come out with a comprehensive plan to supply food and foodgrains to the poor.
Also observing that the government has to re-examine supplying food in Indira Canteens as it results in mass gathering of people, the court asked the State to consider the need to supply foodgrains to the poor based on photo ID cards, without insisting on ration cards, under the present circumstances.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice B.V. Nagarathna passed the order during a videoconference hearing on PIL petitions related to issues that have cropped up because of the measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Pointing out that the apex court, in its judgment in the case of Swaraj Abhiyan, while dealing with a situation of drought, had asked the authorities to supply foodgrains based on any identification or proof of residence in lieu of ration card, the Bench said that the government has to consider such a measure under the National Food Security Act. The Bench also noted that the government had declared COVID-19 as a “notified disaster” by invoking provisions of the Disaster Management Act.
Earlier, it was pointed out by additional government counsel Vikram Huilgol that the government had decided to release the foodgrains for April-May all at once to ration card-holders of Karnataka and other States in the first week of April.
Stating that it was not dealing with the issue of migrant workers as the same issue was pending before the Supreme Court and the MHA had issued certain directions, the Bench directed the government to enforce laws to prevent hoarding of essential commodities.
The Bench also sought the government’s response on how food was being supplied to pregnant and lactating mothers, and to malnourished children as anganwadis have been closed. It also asked about the supply of midday meals given the closure of schools.
Portal for NGOs
As many non-governmental organisations are engaged in helping the poor in various parts of the State during the lockdown period, the Bench asked the government to create a portal for NGOs to upload information on their geographical area of operation and the nature of relief measures taken up by them.
Based on the information provided on the portal, the government should allocate works to NGOs in an effective manner and streamline the relief measures, it said.
