Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed State government to furnish a detailed report as to how many below poverty line (BPL) families are being given groceries freely by it in the lockdown period.
A bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy sought this information having taken up a letter written by a social activist S.Q. Masood as a PIL petition. The activist raised different issues like thousands of BPL families being left out without any help from the government in the lockdown as it had cancelled their white ration cards.
The government rules made it mandatory for people to present their respective white ration cards to avail the free groceries and other assistance from the government. Those without any cards and people whose cards were cancelled have been left to their fate, the petitioner said.
“Is it essential that white ration cards be presented to avail 12 kilos of rice per person and other groceries being distributed by government freely,” the CJ asked while hearing the petition. There could be some poor families belonging to other States who had come here for livelihood or work.
Now that they were living in the State, the government should treat them as its own people and should not go back in extending any help to them, the bench observed. “Why are the officials insisting on ration cards,” the bench sought to know.
Advocate General B.S. Prasad, responding to the queries from the bench, said PIL pleas with similar subjects and issues were filed earlier were pending. Officials of departments concerned were already asked to secure information on the points raised.
He sought time for presenting details on the matter. Directing the Registry to tag all PIL pleas of similar issues together, the bench posted them to Friday for next hearing. The petitioner also requested the HC to direct the government not to use biometric devices for delivery of goods under welfare schemes to check spread of coronavirus.