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Government claims of saving in PDS, LPG by Aadhaar linking inflated, SC told
New Delhi, March 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday was told that the government’s claims of saving by plugging leakage by linking disbursal of rations under the Public Distribution System and LPG with Aadhaar was “incorrect and inflated” as there was no study to back such a claim.
Telling the five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that there was not a single study to demonstrate that “identity fraud” is a large proportion of corruption in the implementation of welfare system, senior counsel K.V.Viswanathan said claims of savings were “incorrect and inflated”.
Asserting that there was evidence that “quantity fraud is pervasive”, he told the bench also comprising Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan that the government claim of saving, inter alia of Rs 14,000 crore in the PDS system, “due to the detection of 2.33 crore ration cards is incorrect, inflated and based on wrong assumption…”
Appearing for social activists Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Nachiket Udupa, Vishwanathan said that the government does not have the estimates of the leakage in PDS and also no study has been carried out to ascertain if POS machines were effective in removing irregularities.
Telling the constitution bench that government was conflating the issue of “bogus/ineligible ration cards” with identity fraud, he said that “a large number of these 2.33 crore cards were deleted even before Aadhaar-integration and seeding came into effect”.
Referring to the figures of decline in the leakage in PDS system even before it was linked to Aadhaar, Viswanathan held that “the state has failed to demonstrate that increased savings and better targeting are of an order of magnitude that justifies” the serious infringement of fundamental right to privacy of the citizens.
Assailing the report of the UIDAI on the saving through Direct Benefit Transfer to the user of LPG which claims to have saved Rs 14,672 core in 2014-2015, Rs 6,912 crore in 2015-2016 and Rs 4,9824 crore in 2016-2017, he said that the report of the committee of secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary had said that the “de-duplication of beneficiaries using Aadhaar was able to identify only 9 lakh duplicate connections, and the total saving in the annual subsidy was only Rs 91 crore”.
The court was told this in the course of the hearing of a batch of petitions by former Karnataka High Court Judge K.S. Puttuswamy, Magsaysay awardee Shanta Sinha, feminist researcher Kalyani Sen Menon and others challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme on the touchstone of the fundamental right to privacy.
Viswanathan will continue his arguments on Thursday.
–IANS
pk/vd
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.
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