Statutory funds can’t come in way of PM-Cares Fund, says government

NEW DELHI: The Central government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the PM-Cares fund, which provided for voluntary contributions, was a separate, distinct fund created under a separate provision of law as opposed to the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and as such demands to transfer the former to the NDRF was not maintainable.

The NDRF was a statutory fund created under the Disaster Management Act, a Ministry of Home Affairs affidavit submitted to the top court argued. The NDRF funds mostly come from budgetary allocations without any private contribution.

There are several other funds which were either established earlier or now for carrying out various relief works. “PM-Cares Fund is one such fund with voluntary donations.” The affidavit said that the existence of a statutory fund such as the NDRF would not prohibit creation of a different fund like the PM-Cares Fund. Any demand to transfer the PM-Cares Fund to the NDRF is not maintainable on merits as all funds other than the funds stipulated under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, are separate, different and distinct created separately under separate provisions. “Our nation has responded to, dealt with and is dealing with this unprecedented human crisis in the best possible manner under the circumstances with rationale and optimal utilisation of resources at its command at various levels and in various forms,” it said, urging the court not to look at the scheme based on a few, subjective criticisms.

“Reference to such criticism made by some experts appears to be a product of a very myopic and subjective vision,” it said, adding that the court may not base its decision to act on a petition or not based on “individual views which may be criticising the response of the nation”.