PM-CARES Fund 'Not a Public Authority', Doesn't Fall Under RTI Act: PMO

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PM-CARES Fund 'Not a Public Authority', Doesn't Fall Under RTI Act: PMO

The PMO has rejected an RTI application seeking details of the PM CARES Fund, stating that the fund is not a public authority under the Act.

One of the many advertisements paid for with official funds seeking donations from the public for PM CARES, a trust which the government claims is a 'private' one.

The Wire Staff

 

 

 

 

 

GOVERNMENT

31/MAY/2020

New Delhi: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has clarified that the PM-CARES Fund, which has so far attracted a huge sum of donations to handle the challenges arising from the COVID-19 crisis, is not a public authority. This, even though the PM is the ex-officio chairman of the trust, and three cabinet ministers are its trustees.

In a reply to an RTI filed on April 1 by Harsha Kandukuri, a student of the Azim Premji University, Bangalore, the PMO stated that the Fund is not a public authority under section 2 (h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and therefore it won’t be able to divulge information sought in the application.

The fund – Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund –was created on March 28 to deal with any emergency posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to news reports, while PM Narendra Modi would be its ex-officio chairman, its trustees were to be Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The opposition had questioned the need for a creation of the Fund as the PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) already exists to receive donations for such emergencies.

Also read: PMO Refuses to Give Details on PM-CARES, Citing Controversial SC Statement

Looking at the composition of the trust members of PM Cares Fund, Kandukuri had sought copies of the trust deed and all government orders, circulars and notifications related to its creation and functioning.  By then, various ministries and government departments had issued circulars to its employees to contribute one day’s salary to the Fund. The donation could be paid between this May to next March, covering the entire fiscal year.

In some cases, the donations raised voluntarily for PMNRF too have been directed to the PM-CARES Fund by the administration.

The PM-CARES Fund has reportedly received Rs 6,500 crore in the first week of its launch. The total donation received so far is a whopping Rs 10,000 crore. A news report in The Print quoted government officials as saying, “The bulk of the contribution comes from corporate, the public sector undertakings and central ministries and departments. The central public sector enterprises under the ministries of power and new and renewable energy had contributed Rs 925 crore by April 3, while public sector oil companies including ONGC, IOC, Bharat Petroleum had contributed over Rs 1,000 crore.”

However, in reply to his RTI, the PMO said it is not a public authority, adding, “However, relevant information in respect of PM-CARES Fund may be seen on the website pmcares.gov.in.”

As per the RTI Act, a public authority means any authority, body or institution of self-government established or constituted a)by or under the constitution; b) by any other law made by parliament; c) by any other law made by the state legislature and d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate government. It also includes “body owned, controlled or substantially financed; non-governmental organisation substantially financed directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate government”.

Also read: PM CARES and the Paradox of Mandatory Contributions

Speaking to LiveLaw, Kandukuri said he would file a statutory appeal against the decision of the PMO.

“By denying PM Cares Fund the status of ‘public authority’, it is only reasonable to infer that it is not controlled by the Government. If that is the case, who is controlling it? The name, the composition of the trust, control, usage of emblem, government domain name everything signifies that it is a public authority. By simply ruling that it is not a public authority and denying the application on RTI Act, the government has constructed walls of secrecy around it. This is not about lack of transparency and denying the application of the RTI Act to the fund, we should also be worried about how the fund is being operated. We do not know the decision making process of the trust and safeguards available, so that the fund is not misused. For a trust which is created and run by four cabinet ministers in their ex-officio capacities, denying the status of ‘public authority’ is a big blow to transparency and not to mention our democratic values,” Kandukuri told the legal news site.

He had sought reply from the PMO on 12 points regarding the Fund.

Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office had clarified to the NDTV that it wouldn’t audit PM-CARES Fund as it is “a charitable organisation” and “based on donations from individuals and organisations”. The PMNRF too is not audited by CAG but by an independent auditor outside of the government.

In 2018, a division bench of the Delhi high court was split on the issue of whether PMNRF is a public authority under the RTI Act and is liable to disclosure of information to applicants. While Justice Ravindra Bhat felt it was a public authority, Justice Sunil Gaur differed. The matter was thereafter forwarded to the acting chief justice of the HC for an opinion. The issue is still pending.

https://thewire.in/government/pm-cares-fund-not-a-public-authority-rti-act-pmo

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PM CARES fund: Centre asks Bombay HC to dismiss petition seeking details of donations, expenditure

The petitioner, a lawyer, also demanded that the government appoint or nominate at least two members from opposition parties for transparency.

 

A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. | PIB via Twitter

The Centre on Tuesday requested the Bombay High Court to dismiss a petition seeking that the donations and expenditure of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, or PM CARES fund, – created to tackle the coronavirus pandemic – be made public, PTI reported.

The petition, filed by a lawyer, asked the government to declare the receipts and expenditure of the fund on the official website periodically.

The petitioner also alleged that no trustees had been appointed to the fund since its creation in March, even though guidelines specified that three more people had to be brought on board. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairperson of the fund and ministers from departments of defence, home and finance are its members. The petitioner demanded that the government appoint or nominate at least two members from opposition parties for transparency.

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Also read:

1. PM CARES Fund not a ‘public authority’, says government, denies RTI application
2. Here is why PM CARES should be scrutinised by the CAG – not by independent auditors

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Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court that the petition should be dismissed since a similar plea against setting up of the PM CARES fund had been rejected by the Supreme Court in April.

The bench, however, told Singh that the current petition was seeking different details and directed him to file an affidavit in response to the plea within two weeks.

Several questions have been raised about the transparency of the PM CARES Fund. Opposition parties have also repeatedly questioned the need to create the reserve when Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund is already in existence.

Last week, the Prime Minister’s Office had refused to provide details about the PM CARES Fund to a Right to Information applicant, saying that the reserve was not a “public authority” under the RTI Act. In April, the government had said that the fund will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India since it was based on donations of individuals and organisations.

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Coronavirus | PM CARES is not a public authority under RTI Act: PMO

Priscilla Jebaraj

NEW DELHI, MAY 30, 2020 22:50 IST

UPDATED: MAY 31, 2020 08:30 IST

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The fund was set up to accept donations for relief measures during the pandemic. Photo: Reuters  

 

Fund is not public authority, says reply

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has refused to disclose details on the creation and operation of the PM CARES Fund, telling a Right to Information applicant that the fund is “not a public authority” under the ambit of the RTI Act, 2005.

Full coverage on coronavirus

The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund was set to accept donations and provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, and other similar emergencies.

A few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the Fund on his Twitter account on March 28, Sri Harsha Kandukuri filed an RTI application on April 1, asking the PMO to provide the Fund’s trust deed and all government orders, notifications and circulars relating to its creation and operation.

Also read: How different is the PM CARES Fund from the PM’s National Relief Fund?

“When we already have the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF), having another fund did not make sense to me. I was curious about the composition and objectives of the Trust. I wanted to read the trust deed,” says Mr. Kandukuri, who is a law student at the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru.

When he did not receive any response within 30 days, he appealed. Finally, he received a response from the PMO’s information officer dated May 29.

“PM CARES Fund is not a Public Authority under the ambit of Secon 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. However, relevant information in respect of PM CARES Fund may be seen on the Website pmcares.gov.in,” the reply said.

Also read | Congress questions setting up of PM CARES Fund to deal with coronavirus

The relevant section of the Act defines a “public authority” as “any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted — (a) by or under the Constitution; (b) by any other law made by Parliament; (c) by any other law made by State Legislature; (d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government — and includes any (i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed; (ii) non‑Government Organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government.”

Mr. Kandukuri now plans to appeal further. "The name, composition of the trust, control, usage of emblem, government domain name -- everything signifies that it is a public authority," he said, pointing out that the PM is the ex-officio chairman of the Trust, while three cabinet ministers are ex-officio trustees. “The composition of the trust is enough to show that Government exercises substantive control over the trust, making it a public authority,” he said.

PM-CARES | Russian arms firm to donate $2 million to PM CARES Fund

Another RTI request on the issue, filed by activist Vikrant Togad, had also been refused in April, with the PMO citing a Supreme Court observation that “indiscriminate and impractical demands under RTI Act for disclosure of all and sundry information would be counterproductive”.

There is also ambiguity regarding whether the PMNRF (Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund) is subject to the RTI Act. While the Central Information Commission directed it to disclose information in 2008, a division bench of the Delhi High Court gave a split opinion on the question of whether PMNRF is a public authority under the Act.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/coronavirus-pm-cares-is-not-a-public-authority-under-rti-act-pmo/article31712146.ece

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