Ration delivery beneficiaries can opt out at any point, Delhi govt tells HC

The scheme has become another flashpoint between the BJP-led Union government and the AAP government in Delhi, with the former saying that the plan violates the provisions of National Food Security Act.

The state government on Monday told the Delhi high court that doorstep deliveries had become a norm as it defended its ration delivery programme and said that the scheme should be appreciated, even as it assured that beneficiaries could opt out at any time.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government before a bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said that states like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, as well as cities like Bengaluru in Karnataka have in place identical doorstep delivery schemes.

Everything has been home delivered over the past years, Singhvi said.

“It is a complete misconception or [has been] wrongly implied that fair price shops (FPS) will cease to exist. Doorstep delivery is an optional scheme and beneficiaries can opt out anytime. This is nothing but proxy litigation set up by somebody else who is not the petitioner,” he said.

The scheme has become another 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 National Food Security Act (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.

He said the Delhi high court did not stay the programme, despite which the Lieutenant Governor (LG) has stalled the scheme, citing the pending litigation. He further contended that not a single beneficiary has questioned the mode and manner of implementation of the scheme.

The Lieutenant Governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

The Delhi government is contesting a petition by the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh, a group of FPS owners, in which they have challenged the doorstep ration delivery scheme and demanded that it should be declared ultra vires (beyond one’s legal power or authority).

Arguments will continue on December 3.

During the proceedings, the bench said that the fair price shops (FPS) should not be ousted from the system with the implementation of the scheme.

“The Centre’s submission is that FPS is an integral part of the NFSA, therefore, you cannot do away with that,” the bench said.

During the hearing, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, said the court should not allow any state to interfere with the structure of NFSA and destroy its architecture.

“As Union of India, we are only concerned with complete compliance of NFSA,” she submitted.

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 verdict also effectively gave a go-ahead to the state government scheme.

The apex court said since the high court verdict was interim, and the court was still seized of the matter, it would not like to entertain the plea.