Govt money fully reaching people now: S-G to SC
New Delhi: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, explaining the Centre’s welfare schemes during the Covid-19 pandemic, informed the Supreme Court that today that every one rupee from the Centre now fully reaches the people, while in contrast, earlier only 15 paise for every rupee used to reach the people.
Mehta submitted before a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan that “Fortunately we have passed those times when the Centre used to send Rs 1 and 15 paise used to reach the poor. Now the Centre send Rs 1 and people get Rs 1.”
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing as a officer court, contended that Solicitor General is politicising the matter. The submissions were made during the hearing of suo moto case on the problems faced by the migrant workers’ during the nationwide lockdown to contain the outbreak of Covid-19.
Singhvi argued that 15 million migrant workers’ were not registered after the registration process started and this process is leading to labourers being left out of benefit schemes.
Mehta informed the bench that there plans such as national plan, biological disaster plan and Covid-19 management plan, are already in place. Mehta argued that it is not available to have a straight jacket fixed plan. “Something that works in Mumbai cannot work in Karnataka. There cannot be a uniform plan”, he argued.
Singhvi contended before the top court that the first issue is of food security and if Solicitor General looks into it, this will be solved. He insisted that the submissions by Centre does not highlight the actual disbursal or data for it. “Then comes health insurance and it is not available in any form”, argued Singhvi.
Mehta contended before the top court that there cannot be a static plan and thus the Centre kept updating it with the help of experts. “We have everything like risk assessment, global approach. If you would like to see the details, we can place the entire thing on record”, said Mehta. The hearing is continuing.