The district food supply department has identified over 15,000 e-Shram card holders in Ludhiana to bring them under the Public Distribution System (PDS), said officials.
District food supplies controller Sartaj Singh Cheema said 15,002 e-Shram card holders, mostly unskilled labourers and migrant workers, have been identified and will get 5kg free wheat per person in the next quarter.
The officials said they received data of registered workers from e-Shram portal in May 2024 and the department began area-wise verification.
The department conducted e-KYC verification of each worker’s UAN and Aadhaar card details with the help of local ration depot holders.
The move comes in response to a Supreme Court directive asking all states and Union territories to issue ration cards to nearly 8 crore e-Shram workers across the country who continued to be excluded from food security schemes. The order was passed on October 3, 2023.
The SC ruling came after one Prashant Bhushan, an advocate, filed a petition raising concerns about ‘poor implementation’ of an earlier top court order dated April 20, 2023. The order had directed states to extend the benefits of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to the marginalised sections, including migrant workers and unorganised sector workers. However, of the 28.6 crore workers registered on the e-Shram portal, only 20.63 crore were linked to ration card databases, the petitioner had alleged.
Karamjit Singh Arechha, national assistant secretary and Punjab president of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation, welcome the move. He said, “This will benefit vulnerable sections of society who previously had to buy wheat at market prices. Ration depot holders will benefit through increased margins. But the government should have acted earlier without the Supreme Court’s push.”
{{/usCountry}}Karamjit Singh Arechha, national assistant secretary and Punjab president of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation, welcome the move. He said, “This will benefit vulnerable sections of society who previously had to buy wheat at market prices. Ration depot holders will benefit through increased margins. But the government should have acted earlier without the Supreme Court’s push.”
{{/usCountry}}On the department’s plans to meet the added demand, DFSC Cheema said, “The procurement season is underway, and we have given a target to mandis across Ludhiana to ensure that enough wheat is procured to meet the demand.”