Satisfied With Measures In Place: Kerala High Court Refuses To Issue Orders Directing Lakshadweep Administration To Supply Food Kits

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday declined to issue directions to the Lakshadweep Administration to supply additional food and other provisions to the islanders during the lockdown period.

Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly were satisfied with the response filed by the Administration regarding the measures it has taken to ensure food security on the islands. 

The petition was filed by a native of Amini Island seeking directions to the Lakshadweep Administration to provide necessary food kits, including rice and other necessary provisions, to the needy residents of Lakshadweep Islands, till the lockdown restrictions were lifted. In his petition, it was submitted that 80 percent of the residents are daily wage earners and most of them had lost their jobs to the pandemic, leaving them with no means to earn a living. On this ground, he insisted that the Administration provide additional assistance in the supply of food kits as well as financial support to the islanders.

Advocate Mohammed Shah, representing the petitioner, submitted that residents of the islands had already submitted several representations to the concerned authorities highlighting the lack of sufficient ration supply during the lockdown. It was emphasised that the Panchayat had also filed a complaint before the District Collector in this matter.

Senior Central Government Counsel, S Manu, while appearing for the Administration, furnished charts depicting island-wise distribution of rice in May 2021 and monthly beneficiaries for providing Food Security Allowance before the Court.

Disagreeing with the petitioner, he argued that 10 percent of the islanders were government servants, which implies that approximately 40 percent of the population were entitled to the benefits of government jobs. Additionally, it was submitted that the 15 percent population comprises school-going children, who were provided with food kits from their schools even amidst the lockdown.

The Administration also asserted that more than 60 percent of the population on the Union Territory was covered by Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, while around 30 percent also enjoyed the benefits of Antyodaya Anna Yojana, which supplied highly subsidised food to the poorest households. It was further argued that the islands had sufficient stock of rice to last up to October 2021. 

The Union Government had also reportedly allocated 1349 crores for the Union Territory in 2020-21. The Counsel added that electricity was subsided while education and health were provided for free on the islands.

Under these circumstances, the petitioner's allegation that people live in poverty on the Islands was alleged to be an attempt to mislead the Court.

The Division Bench accordingly dismissed the petition, pleased by the submissions made regarding the measures implemented by the Administration on the islands.

Case Title: Nasih KK vs. Union of India