Big setback for Mamata govt as Calcutta HC declares its 'Duare Ration' scheme illegal

In a big setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government on Thursday, the Calcutta High Court held that the 'Duare Ration' scheme is legally void. A division bench of Justices Aniruddha Roy and Chitta Ranjan Dash set aside the orders of two single-judge benches which upheld the validity of the aforesaid scheme. It was challenged by fair price shop dealers who contended that the state government cannot frame any scheme relating to the distribution of ration items which is dealt with by the Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015, issued by the Centre. 

The division bench held, "Various provisions have been made, which are essentially 'machine provisions' for proper monitoring, check on pilferage and reach out to the benefits to actual beneficiaries. The wisdom of the legislature cannot be questioned as to why fair price shop was chosen by the (National Food Security) Act as outer limit of delivery and why they did not explore little further to fix it at the doorstep of the beneficiaries. We cannot hold that the distance from the fair price shop to the doorstep of the beneficiaries is an unexplored distance or an extra mile only." 

The judgment added, "We are, therefore, constrained to hold that the State Government has transgressed the limit of delegation by obliging the Fair Price Shop dealers to distribute the rations to the beneficiaries at their doorstep in absence of any authority to that effect in the enabling Act, i.e 'NFS Act'. If the 'NFS Act' is amended by the wisdom of the Union Legislature i.e Parliament for doorstep delivery of food grains to the beneficiaries or invest any such power to the State Government then only such a scheme can be made by the State and that can be said to be in sync with the enabling Act". The court ruled that this scheme is ultra vires the NFS Act. 

What is the Duare Ration scheme? 

One of the main promises of TMC before the 2021 WB Assembly election, this scheme entails the delivery of ration at the doorsteps of beneficiaries by fair price shop dealers. Launching the scheme at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on November 16, 2021, WB CM Mamata Banerjee remarked, "This Duare Ration scheme will help 10 crore people of the state. I will request all the ration dealers to make it a success. Many states are trying to emulate schemes of West Bengal". On the occasion, she revealed that the state government will provide Rs 1 lakh each to nearly 21,000 dealers to purchase vehicles for delivering ration.