Plea to transfer PM-CARES fund to NDRF: SC notice to Centre

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court issued notice to the Union home ministry on a plea by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, a NGO, seeking transfer of all contributions made to the PM Cares Fund, formed after Covid-19 outbreak, till date to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

The NDRF is a fund created by the central government under section 46 of the Disaster Management Act (DM Act) for dealing with disasters.

The PM Cares Fund, the petition claimed has been set up in violation of the legal mandate under the Disaster Management Act of 2005 as per which any grant made by any person or institution for the purpose of disaster management should be compulsorily credited to NDRF.

“However, currently, NDRF is not being utilized in fighting the ongoing Covid-19 and a PM-CARES Fund has been constituted instead, outside the purview and ambit of DM Act, as a public charitable trust and ail the contributions/ donations with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic are being made to the said fund in violation of clear statutory provisions”, the petition stated. The petitioner also prayed that a national plan should be drawn up for disaster management for the whole of the country as mandated by section 11 of the DM Act.

“Section 11 of the DM Act makes it mandatory for a national plan to be drawn up for disaster management for whole of the country but currently, there is no such national plan in place to deal with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic...”, the petitioner pointed out.

“The central government has overruled the mandate under the DM Act. We will show it”, senior counsel Dushyant Dave, who appeared for CPIL, submitted. A bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan sought the Centre’s response despite solicitor general Tushar Mehta arguing against it. “We have read the petition. We will issue notice. Let reply be filed in four weeks”, the bench, which also comprised justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MR Shah, said and listed the case for hearing next on July 8. The case will be heard along with the suo motu case initiated by the top court on May 26 to address the plight of migrant labourers.