The Supreme Court on Tuesday reminded Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar that the apex court’s earlier order to distribute food grains to the poor instead of letting it rot, which the minister had taken to be a “suggestion” not binding on the government, was indeed an order, and not a suggestion.
Earlier, while referring to media reports attributed to Mr Pawar wherein he said the apex court had only made a suggestion to the Union government on August 12, a bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma told additional solicitor general (ASG) Mohan Parasaran, “Tell your minister not to make any such comment. What we have said is an order and not a suggestion. Let him not misunderstand our order.” During the hearing, the judges expressed their displeasure at the “casual manner” with which the Union minister had chosen to treat its earlier order.
The bench reminded Mr Pawar to give the food grains, stocked in government warehouses, to the poor for free instead of letting these rot.
The court also directed the Central government to carry out a fresh survey of the people below the poverty line above the poverty line and beneficiaries of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana.
The apex court, hearing the issue of rampant corruption in the Public Distribution System (PDS), also ordered the government to launch criminal prosecution against those using bogus ration cards.
The court passed the order in the wake of several states disputing the figures of the Central government related to beneficiaries of subsidised food schemes.
The petitioner, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said the government admitted in its affidavit that it has sold 60.10 lakh tonnes of food grains in the open market since October 2009.
The government should be restrained from selling food grains in the open market as a large number of people are suffering from malnutrition and hunger, the petition to the Supreme Court had said.