[Dry Rations] Supreme Court pulls UP govt for not identifying sex workers in state, asks all states to file compliance report by 4 weeks

The Supreme Court today pulled up Uttar Pradesh government for not completing the exercise of identifying all the sex workers in the state as directed in its September 29 order..In its order, the Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Ajay Rastogi had directed that dry rations be provided to sex workers in all states without insisting on identification proof..When Advocate Garima Prashad, appearing for the State of UP today, sought more time to give the exact numbers, Justice Rao reacted,."You were given four weeks and still you have not been able to [provide information]. This shows the capability of the state. Four weeks is enough to provide ration and one to live off it. Don't delay this and it should not be a mere lip service."Justice L Nageswara Rao.Justice Rao went on to note,"Affidavit filed by State of UP is not clear about implementation of the order passed on September 29. We expect the State to comply with directions along with the district legal services authority.".Earlier, Amicus Curiae and Senior Advocate Jayant Bhushan submitted that the State has identified 27,000 sex workers through the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)..The Court was also informed that in Maharashtra, out of 36 districts, only 8 had filed reports. Noting Bhushan's submissions, the Court has asked the Maharashtra government to ensure that there is "uniformity in distribution of ration" in the state. .As regards Assam, the Court stated that the state government should furnish details as to how the Rs. 32 lakh disbursed by the State to provide ration to 11,000 sex workers will be provided. .The State of Manipur submitted that since it is a "small state", it does not have any schemes for providing ration to sex workers, and that it was in need of funds."We have written to the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) for help," said counsel for the Manipur government.The Court then asked Manipur to make a representation to the Central government for funds and ensure that the 2,000 to 5,000 sex workers in the State are identified and provided dry ration..Senior Advocate Anand Grover stated that there were issues with the NACO data that states were relying on. He submitted,"SOP issued by NACO ensures confidentiality. Major issue is that NACO data has only the ones who are below 40 years old. There is no data for sex workers who are above 40. This is a major concern and needs to be looked at, along with privacy.".The Bench has now asked all states to file compliance reports regarding implementation of schemes to provide sex workers with dry ration within the next four weeks. The order states,"We direct the state governments to ensure that schemes for distribution of ration is implemented. In case there are no schemes, the Central government scheme can be adopted. Regarding confidentiality, states to maintain the format of NACO and not reveal the identity.".The Court was hearing an application filed by NGO Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, which had moved the Court to highlight the difficulties faced by sex workers on the account of the COVID-19 pandemic. The application seeks relief measures for over nine lakh female and transgender sex workers across the country..In its judgment passed in February 2011, the Court had held that sex workers have a right to live with dignity. A committee was subsequently constituted to study the various laws and to conduct a study relating to the conditions of sex workers. One of the terms of reference was the rehabilitation of sex workers..The committee filed a number of interim reports before the Court, before submitting a final report in September 2016. The Court noted that the third interim report pertains to easing the existing rigors of identifying sex workers. Among the recommendations made was that sex workers who are citizens shall not be denied a Voter ID card because of their profession.