SC declines to pass any directions on plea seeking community kitchens across India

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to pass any directions or guidelines on a plea seeking establishment of community kitchens across India.

Noting that there exist various social welfare schemes, including the National Food Security Act, a Bench headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi refused to examine if the concept of community kitchen is a better or wise alternative to the existing food security framework under the Act.

The Bench, also comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal, said it is open for Union and state governments to frame alternative schemes for providing food and nutritional security.

The verdict came on a plea seeking establishment of community kitchens across India, formulation of a requisite scheme to provide food to needy people and creating a national food grid for those people who are beyond the scope of the Public Distribution System, to fight with hunger and malnutrition.

Earlier, the top court had directed the Union government to come up with a ‘Model Community Kitchens Scheme’ agreeable to the states and Union Territories (UT).

It had also asked all the state governments and UTs to attend the meeting to be organised by the Centre and cooperate with it in coming up with the said scheme, which can be made uniformly applicable across the country.