CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court will on March 24 take stock of the progress of preparation of an accurate database on ration card holders across Odisha so that an action plan can be drawn up for including beneficiaries under the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) in a time-bound manner.
The court has directed the State government to file an affidavit a week before the scheduled date. It was hearing a PIL filed by social activist Prafulla Samantara, which had sought special intervention by way of food security measures and foodgrains to non-ration card holders in view of the Covid-10 pandemic.
A division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice RK Pattanaik said, “Suggestions made by the petitioner should also be looked into by the State officials. The orders of the Supreme Court stating that there cannot be denial of ration due to non-linkage of Aadhaar with the ration card should also be taken note of.”
Samantara through his counsel Ishwar Mohanty had filed an additional affidavit stating that about 19 lakh beneficiaries in the State were kept out of the food security schemes due to non-linkage of Aadhaar with ration card.He sought direction to the State government to relax the condition and not deny ration to eligible beneficiaries due to lack of Aadhaar linkage with ration card.
In an affidavit, Principal Secretary Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Vir Vikram Yadav had claimed that left out eligible households seeking food security can always be brought into the food security net at any point of time if found eligible as per the specified exclusion and auto inclusion criteria notified for the purpose.
“For the purpose of maintaining dynamic database, as many as 378 ration card management centres are functioning in 314 blocks and 64 urban local body areas throughout the year where intending applicants can apply for a ration card,” Yadav said in the affidavit.