The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the Centre’s stand on a PIL that the advantages beneath the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, which was launched as a reduction package deal for the poor in 2020 after the primary COVID-19 lockdown, needs to be prolonged to those that aren’t the subscribers of the Ujjwala scheme or possess an lively Jan Dhan account.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued discover on the petition by Aakash Goel and requested the Centre to file its response. Central authorities lawyer Anil Soni sought time from the court docket to file a standing report on the matter.
The petitioner, represented by lawyer Prashant Bhushan, has claimed that the scheme is exclusionary as a result of it leaves out of its ambit the beneath poverty line households who aren’t subscribers of the Ujjwala scheme or have an lively Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) account.
“The grant of Rs 500 (under the relief scheme) was limited only to PMJDY account holders. Having an active PMJDY account is a pre-requisite for availing benefit of this ex-gratia amount announced by the Union Government however this criterion is exclusionary because crores of poor women do not possess an active PMJDY account,” the petition said.
“It is further pertinent to note that the relief package granting three free gas cylinders was made available exclusively to subscribers of the Ujjwala Scheme while again arbitrarily excluding equally disadvantaged below poverty line women who were not subscribers of the said scheme,” it added.
The petitioner has argued that the classification of poor based mostly on being PMJDY account holders or being Ujjwala subscribers is completely arbitrary, discriminatory, and devoid of cause. It has additional stated that it’s ‘absurd’ that the authorities view the hardships confronted by non-Ujjwala BPL households or non-PMJDY account holders as much less critical than these being confronted by an Ujjwala BPL households and PMJDY account holders.
“The disbursement of relief to the people essentially belonging to same economic class and facing similar financial hardships, cannot be in the absolute discretion or according to the whims and fancies of the Government. It is further submitted that grant of relief under the Relief Package ought to not be allowed to become distribution of government largesse to a favoured few,” the petition has stated.
It is thus prayed {that a} route be issued to the authorities to conduct an “identification exercise” in regards to the non-PMJDY account holders in addition to non-Ujjwala subscribers who’re eligible for the advantages of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana package deal and to increase the advantages to these eligible. The matter can be heard subsequent on October 28
Source: www.financialexpress.com”
