A Division Bench of the High Court has issued notices to the National Disaster Management Authority and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and asked them to extend the maximum possible benefit to the poor and needy people in the State during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic without waiting for further directions from the court.
Two law students in Rajasthan had brought to the High Court, through a public interest litigation petition, the issue of the FCI not providing sufficient quantity of foodgrains to the destitute and the underprivileged.
The students said the number of beneficiaries had increased exponentially after the data collection in 2013.
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Petitioners Himakshi Alaria and Harsh Kumar pointed out that migrant labourers, daily wage earners, people excluded from the purview of social security pensions and those not covered in the National Food Security Act (NFSA) were important contributors to the change of demography in the State. None of them was getting any food assistance from FCI, they said.
The food stocks being disbursed by the FCI in Rajasthan amounted to 2.23 metric tonnes for a total of 4.46 crore beneficiaries, calculated on the basis of the 2011 Census and data collection in 2013. But the State government had data showing the number of NFSA beneficiaries to be 5 crore. “This clearly establishes a shortage for 54 lakh beneficiaries,” the petition stated.
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The bench, comprising Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Satish Kumar Sharma, posted the matter for further hearing on July 13, while directing the Union government and its authorities to take urgent action if the assertion made by the petitioners was found correct.
Ms. Alaria said that after denial from the FCI, the State government had decided to purchase foodgrains at the market price of ₹21 per kg in order to combat deficiency in food stocks. “When every income generating sector is shut, the State government is also finding it difficult to generate revenue during the pandemic,” the petition stated.
