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New Delhi:
Money collected beneath the PM CARES Fund for the coronavirus pandemic can’t be transferred to National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), the Supreme Court mentioned at this time, including that funds collected by the PM Cares Fund are totally completely different and that these are funds of charitable trusts. The authorities is free to switch cash to the catastrophe response fund if it feels acceptable to take action, the highest courtroom mentioned.
Any contribution or grant may be credited to the NDRF and anybody can contribute to this fund as a voluntary contribution, the highest courtroom mentioned because it heard a petition towards the PM CARES fund by an NGO referred to as Centre for Public Interest Litigation, looking for a path that each one current and future fund collections contributions and grants beneath the PM CARES Fund for the COVID-19 pandemic must be transferred to National Disaster Response Fund. The petition mentioned PM CARES fund violates the provisions of Disaster Management Act.
The courtroom additionally mentioned there isn’t any want for a brand new plan and that one beneath the National Disaster Management Act is sufficient to take care of COVID-19.
Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund was arrange by the centre on March 28 to take care of any sort of emergency state of affairs just like the one at the moment posed by the pandemic and supply reduction to these affected. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairman of the fund and the defence, house and finance ministers are ex-officio trustees.
A 3-judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah delivered the decision at this time by way of video-conferencing.
“Supreme Court of India upholds the validity of #PMCaresFund. Refuses to instruct government to transfer fund to NDRF. Hope that should send out a message… loud and clear,” Union Minister Jitendra Singh tweeted quickly after the decision.
Supreme Court of India upholds the validity of #PMCaresFund . Refuses to instruct Govt to switch fund to NDRF . Hope that ought to ship out a message…loud and clear.
— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) August 18, 2020
The Congress and others have questioned the authorized validity of the fund and questioned the necessity for it, pointing to the same Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
Concerns have additionally been raised over company social duty advantages denied to contributions to state catastrophe reduction funds, and the very fact the fund isn’t beneath the audit of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The centre has defended the PM CARES Fund, saying it’s a voluntary fund whereas budgetary allocations took care of the catastrophe response fund. It argued that simply because the latter exists doesn’t prohibit the creation of the PM Cares Fund for voluntary donations.
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