The PM CARES Fund: Audit report released after two years, questions raised on Rs 8,452 crore

New Delhi: After a long wait of two years, the central government has finally made the audit report of the PM CARES Fund public. The fund currently has Rs 8, 452.06 crore in deposits. Of this, Rs 7, 846.6 crore is in fixed deposits and about Rs 605.4 crore is in savings accounts.

Questions of transparency and accountability have been raised about this fund created to deal with emergency situations during the Corona epidemic since the beginning. Now after the audit report has come out, the question has once again been raised that why did it take two years for the complete information of such a large fund to be made public?

8,452 crore, but why question the books of account?

The PM CARES Fund is chaired by the Prime Minister and the Union Minister is associated as its trustee. In such a situation, it is natural to question why there was such a long silence about the financial transparency of the fund whose structure includes people associated with the top constitutional posts of the country?

If the fund was created solely for public interest and disaster relief, why was there such a delay in making public the details of its operations, expenditure and investments?

If not government funds, then who will answer people's questions?

This is where the biggest controversy lies. The government's stand has been that the PM CARES Fund is not a government fund. On this basis, it has been considered out of the purview of RTI and limited information has been made available on questions related to its transactions in Parliament as well.

But here's the big question... If the Prime Minister is the chairman of the fund, Union ministers are its members and the fund was set up to deal with a situation like a national disaster, then what is the basis for keeping it away from public accountability?

Is it enough to simply say that the fund is not government?

There are also questions about the two-year delay

The delay in making the audit report public is also under question. Why did it take so long for the report to be made public?

Should the public wait for two years to ask for information on thousands of crores of rupees collected in their own name?

Contributions to the PM CARES Fund came in large numbers from home and abroad. In such a situation, the public wants to know how much money has come, how much has been spent, where it has been spent and in what form is the money available now?

Now a direct question to the government: Why is the complete financial information of the PM CARES Fund not made public regularly?
Why was there a two-year delay in making the audit report public?
Out of Rs.8, 452.06 crore, how much has been spent so far and in what items?
How much interest was earned on Rs 7, 846.6 crore of fixed deposits?
Why should not every major contribution to this fund and its utilisation be made public?
When the Prime Minister and Union Ministers are present at its apex level, what is the rationale for keeping it out of RTI and parliamentary questions?
Will the government bring any new rules to make the PM CARES Fund more transparent?

The debate on PM CARES Fund is not just about the amount of Rs 8,452 crore. The real question is about transparency, accountability and public trust.

When the money was collected in the name of helping the public, why should the public not get information about its every big expenditure and every big decision?

The question of Delhi Lookout is straightforward. When will the full account of the PM CARES Fund come in front of the public?