HC’S verdict on ration delivery scheme today
AN ORGANISATION OF RATION SHOP OWNERS HAD CHALLENGED THE SCHEME, CALLING IT ULTRA VIRES
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court will pronounce on Thursday its judgment on a petition by the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh, an organisation of the fixed price shop (FPS) owners in Delhi, that challenged the doorstep ration delivery scheme of the state government.
A bench of acting chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice Jasmeet Singh had reserved its order on the plea on January 10, and will pronounce it at 2.15pm on Thursday, according to court officials.
The plea by the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh demanded that the doorstep ration delivery scheme should be declared ultra vires (beyond one’s legal power or authority).
The scheme was to be launched on March 25, but the Union food and consumer affairs ministry wrote to the Delhi government on March 19 raising two objections— the use of the term “mukhyamantri (chief minister)” for a scheme involving the distribution of food grains allocated under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and that any change in the delivery mechanism requires an amendment in NSFA that can be done only by Parliament.
The scheme had become a flashpoint between the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government and the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, with the former saying that the plan violates the provisions of NFSA and will deprive migrants of foodgrains, and the latter pointing out that it will root out the ration mafia and ensure that all beneficiaries get their ration.
On November 15, the Supreme Court declined to entertain two separate petitions (one by the Centre and another by FPS owners) against a Delhi high court interim order on September 27 that allowed the AAP government to stop supplying foodgrain to fixed price shops for patrons who have chosen doorstep delivery over physical collection of ration. The high court interim order also effectively gave a go-ahead to the state government scheme.
The Lieutenant Governor (LG) had earlier opposed the plea and told the high court that his repeated advice to the Delhi government to address the violation of National Food Security Act (NFSA), flagged by the union government in the implementation of the doorstep delivery of ration scheme, have not been considered by the council of ministers.
Defending its doorstep delivery of ration scheme, the city government had told the court that with the march of technology, doorstep delivery has become a norm, which should be appreciated instead of criticized. It said that from the last two years everything is being delivered at home.
The Delhi government had argued that there was no point in having 1,500-2,000 fair price shops when 6.9 million of the city’s 7.2 million ration beneficiaries have opted for the home delivery of ration. It also contended that the NFSA does not prohibit the doorstep delivery of entitlements.
The Delhi government submitted in the court that it will set up exclusive stores in different parts of the city for doorstep delivery of ration to ensure that those who are not at home can collect it at their convenience.