PM-CARES was created by PM Modi in March to deal with emergency or distress situations such as the coronavirus
New Delhi:
The PM-CARES fund for Covid received Rs 3,076 crore in five days, according to an audit statement released by the government. The account statement, for the financial year 2020, only records donations between March 27 (when the fund was created) and March 31.
Of this Rs 3,076 crore, Rs 3,075.85 crore came from national voluntary contributions and Rs 39.67 lakh was foreign contribution. The statement says that PM-CARES had an initial corpus of Rs 2.25 lakh and the fund has also received an interest of around Rs 35 lakh.
The audit statement has been uploaded to the PM-CARES fund website, but the “accompanying notes 1 to 6” have not been made public. Which means that the government has also not disclosed the details of national and foreign contributors or donors.
Former Finance Minister Chidambaram questioned in tweets why the names of “these generous donors” were not revealed. “Why? All other NGOs or Trusts are required to disclose the names of donors who contribute more than a minimum amount. Why is PM CARES FUND exempt from this obligation,” he asked.
But the names of these generous donors will not be released. Why?
All other NGOs or trusts are required to disclose the names of donors contributing more than a minimal amount. Why is PM CARES FUND exempt from this obligation?
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 2, 2020
The congressional leader also tweeted: “The donee is known. The grantee’s trustees are known. Why are the trustees afraid to reveal the names of the donors?”
The donee is known. The trustees of the donee are known. Why are trustees afraid to reveal the names of donors?
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 2, 2020
Last month, the Supreme Court said that money raised under the PM-CARES Fund for the coronavirus pandemic does not need to be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). She said that the funds raised by the PM-CARES Fund are from charitable trusts and “completely different.” The government is free to transfer money to the disaster response fund if it sees fit, the higher court said.
PM-CARES or the Prime Minister’s Fund for Citizen Assistance and Aid in Emergency Situations was created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March to “deal with emergency or distress situations such as the coronavirus pandemic.” It is managed by a trust with PM Modi as president and senior members of the cabinet as trustees.
In June, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) rejected an RTI request submitted by NDTV seeking details of the PM-CARES Fund, including the deed of trust, stating that the “Fund is not a public authority under the RTI Act.” .
But the audit statement has been signed by PMO officials on behalf of PM-CARES.
Shrikar K Pardeshi, deputy secretary of the PMO, has signed the audit statement on behalf of the PM-CARES Fund as “secretary”, while IAS officer from Gujarat cadre, Hardik Shah, private secretary of PM Modi, has signed the declaration as deputy secretary of the Fund.
.
