New Delhi, Nov. 27 -- The public distribution system (PDS) remains the thin line between sustenance and deprivation for millions in India, the Supreme Court has underlined, imploring states and all other stakeholders to ensure that future exercises in public procurement, particularly those that underpin welfare delivery, must thus be executed with greater institutional coherence, foresight and accountability. "When projects of such public importance are delayed or derailed by procedural lapses, the ultimate cost is borne not by the contracting parties but by those at the last mile of governance. It is therefore incumbent upon every stakeholder - the Government, its technical partners and private participants - to treat such undertakings with the seriousness their human impact demands," held a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The bench, also comprising justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh, emphasised that administrative caution and technological innovation must work hand in hand to ensure that reform does not lose sight of its moral anchor - service to the poorest. Hearing a dispute relating to procurement and deployment of ePoS (electronic point-of-sale) devices for fair price shops under the PDS, the court on Monday lamented that nearly six years had passed but the tender process was yet to be finalised. "The tender pertains to the deployment of ePoS devices integral to the functioning of the PDS - an exercise that directly touches the lives of economically weaker citizens. To prolong uncertainty through further procedural cycles would defeat the very public purpose underlying the tender," noted the bench.The appeal arose from a dispute concerning government tenders for supply, installation and maintenance of ePoS devices for fair price shops. htc...