Central government told Delhi High Court on Monday that Aadhaar was made mandatory to ensure the poor get subsidised foodgrains under the public distribution system (PDS).
“Aadhaar is mandatory for PDS, as this system is mostly misused in our country. The subsidised foodgrains were not reaching the poor. Someone else were availing the benefit,” Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain said.
He added that around 2.33 crore ration cards, used to get the benefit under the PDS scheme, turned out to be fake.
Jain added that Centre has given time to those people who do not have the biometric-based unique identification number to apply for Aadhaar by June 30.
The Centre’s response came in the backdrop of a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking withdrawal of the February 8 notification which makes Aadhaar card mandatory for availing benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
