PM CARES FUND : PUBLIC DOCUMENT OR NOT ?

The PM-CARES fund is a charity fund launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi after the corona epidemic. It stands for Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund. It is a national fund dedicated to dealing with any form of emergency or suffering. It will be used to help combat coronavirus outbreaks and similar epidemics such as future conditions. The funds include voluntary contribution from the individuals and organisations. Also it would not get any budgetary support.

The Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the PM CARES Fund and the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Finance, the Government of India are Trustees of the Fund. Prime Minister Care will not be scrutinized by the CAG. It will be audited by independent auditors appointed by the Trustees.

OBJECTIVES OF PM CARES FUND

Ø  aims to provide and support assistance or assistance (of any kind) related to public health or any form of emergency, disaster or distress, man-made or natural, including the construction or upgrading of health facilities or medical facilities and other necessary infrastructure, in support of appropriate research.

Ø  To provide financial assistance, grants of payments of money, or take such other steps that are necessary so decided by the Board of Trustees to the affected population.

Ø  To perform any other function, which is not in accordance with the above.

Some questions are raised to its formation when already a calamity fund named PMNRF exists. Concerns are also raised about the provision of independent audits in place of audits by the CAG. The government's decision to accept foreign donations by choice was also criticized.

While the Fund received donations from all over the country, many questions were raised about it. With numerous RTI applications filed, opposition leaders wrote letters to the prime minister and even people to the courts. The matter has been referred to Parliament and the Supreme Court where a public interest litigation has been lodged and the BJP is blocking the review of the parliamentary panel of the PM CARES Fund.

When donations are made through taxpayers' money by government agencies, the public has a right to know where the money is going. This is where the biggest problem with the Prime Minister comes from - the lack of transparency. Critics also point out that PM-CARES trustees have a responsibility to rely on trustees and beneficiaries. The cipher also sends a political message which is why it is suspected that the fund's working is not in line with the public aid fund.

PM CARES accepts small donations of less than Rs 10. While some of the largest donations to PM CARES are from India Inc. and government agencies, including 1,500 million rupees by Tata Group, Rs 1,000 crore by Azim Premji Foundation, Rs 500 crore jointly by Army, Navy and Air Force, PSU defense and Department of Defense personnel, have and countless small human contributions too.

It received Rs 3,076.62 crore in just five days of its construction, according to a statement made by the public fund. 'Receipt and payment account' showed an approximate figure of Rs 3,075.85 crore as 'voluntary donations', while Rs 39.67 lakh came as external or foreign donations.

A recent analysis by IndiaSpend estimated that at least Rs 9,677.90 crore has been collected in the PM CARES fund so far. Of this, Rs 4,308 crore has been donated by government agencies and staff. Yet, the only announcement to be made till date about the usage of the funds is the allocation of Rs 3,100 crore for COVID-19 work, made on May 13 — Rs 2,000 crore of which is mired in controversy. The PM CARES fund has announced that it would be spending Rs 2,000 crore for the purchase of 50,000 “Made in India” ventilators. It is to be hoped that they do not prove to be substandard.

Last month, an application was filed in the Supreme Court seeking to be directed to the center to transfer all donations to the PM CARES Fund to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The application was lodged by the NGO Center for Public Interest Litigation and also requested the establishment of a national system under the Disaster Management (DM) Act for Covid-19.

According to the applicants, the NDRF should be used in the fight against coronavirus and future donations as well as individual grants and Covid-19 military facilities should be included in it and not the PM CARES Fund. While pointing out that the Fund is not subject to compulsory CAG investigations and has been outside the Right to Information Act, they also suspect that the institution has been avoiding disclosing information on the direct use of rupees to the PM CARES fund, to date.

Meanwhile, the RTI application was filed by attorney Abhay Gupta on April 1 requesting details of the PM CARES Fund, including the amount deposited so far, the amount deposited two months ago, the details of the PAN card issued to open PM-CARES account, details of the amount spent from the Fund to date and details of the highest investor to date. However, a response he received on May 29 stated that the PM CARES Fund was not a government official, so the required information could not be provided.

“The PM CARES Fund is not a Public Officer under section 2 (h) of the RTI Act, 2005. However, the relevant details regarding the PM CARES Fund can be found on the Website—pmcares.gov.in,” the response said.

But it is important that if the PM CARES Fund is not recognized as a public authority under Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act, it will not be subject to the RTI Act, and related information will not be required by law-abiding citizens. In terms of the provisions of Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act, “public authority” is defined as any authority or body or autonomous institution established or established—

(a) By or under the Constitution;

(b) any other law enacted by Parliament;

(c) any other law enacted by the Legislature;

(d) By notice issued or issued by the relevant Government.

According to RTI law, only such information held by or under the control of any government official may be obtained by the general public through RTI.

SUGGESTIONS REGARDING PM CARES FUND

Ø  To bring the fund within the scope of the Right to Information Act and to make the disclosure of the suo-moto in relation to:

• The trust deed of the PM CARES fund and all documents relating to the establishment of the fund as a public trust that serves the community.
• Disclose donor details and prices provided from time to time.
• Reveal the fundraising practices and institutional arrangements for compliance.
• Disclose details of prices used for periods and purposes for which they are used.

Ø  In addition, transparency and accountability, the fund's performance should be audited by the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) and make public disclosure.

Ø  In addition there is a need for Parliamentary oversight, as donations from PSUs and MPLAD funds may go into the fund. MPLAD funds come from the Consolidated Fund of India and are governed by laws relating to its use.

Ø  As an immediate response to COVID-19, the fund should be used to acquire Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for medical and medical personnel, sanitation staff and other frontline staff, provide health infrastructure including ventilators, and establish testing facilities and wards. .

Ø  Redistribution of the PM CARES fund for COVID-19 and similar emergencies during the PMNRF for all types of natural disasters.

The least that the Supreme Court can do to ensure that PM Cares Fund’s financial statements are published periodically, with the exception of Indians and other donors who have to wait for the annual books to be completed and the statements to be published. After all, in times of disaster, people have a right to know clearly and quickly how the government is using the resources it receives from them to be used for their own benefit.

CONCLUSION

PM CARES comes with a bulk of problems. The people who make decisions in their understanding belong to the same political party. The trust should have involved opposition and other leaders except from the party too as opposition plays a very crucial role in our democracy. Apart from that, there is a complete lack of spending. Allegations of partiality and chauvinism are of great concern. The most troubling part, however, is that the fund apparently did not help people in need. It has received funding but has not been able to achieve its goal so far. It lacks a constitutional explanation and the government has not yet addressed the issues raised. The situation is alarming as the fund receives huge donations and is already a victim of fraud. People have lost their money because of fraudulent activities such as making same name money, same websites etc. It is important to do justice to the faith of citizens by making fund management accountable for immediate disclosure and regular inspections.

Aditi Vishnoi

BA.LLB ICFAI UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

Disclaimer: This article is the personal opinion of the author. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any Indian Government or any other Government of the world. This article is only opinion and does not render ant personal or professional advice.