Jammu Tawi, March 19 -- The Supreme Court expressed serious concern on Wednesday over the ineffective distribution of subsidized essential goods, highlighting that while many States claim to provide rations to Below-Poverty-Line (BPL) families, the intended beneficiaries often do not receive the benefits.

A Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh criticized States for treating ration cards as mere statistical tools to project welfare efforts, rather than ensuring actual delivery of benefits. Justice Kant remarked, "Ration cards have become 'popularity cards' now. States boast about the number of cards issued, but the real question is whether the benefits are actually reaching the deserving poor."

The remarks we...