Supreme Court refuses transfer of PM CARES Fund contributions to NDRF

Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to order the transfer of money donated to the PM CARES Fund for COVID-19 pandemic to the National Disaster Response Fund.

The Supreme Court said there was no need for a fresh national disaster relief plan. The funds given to the PM Cares Fund are entirely different and that these are funds of charitable trusts, the apex court added.

The bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and including Justice RS Reddy and Justice MR Shah said that charitable contribution can always be made to the NDRF as there is no constitutional bar under the Disaster Management Act.

The Supreme Court also added, "The National Disaster Management plan created in November 2019 is enough to tackle Covid-19. No need to create a fresh action plan or separate minimum standards of care."

The verdict came after a PIL was filed by NGO 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation, requesting that all the money collected under the PM CARES Fund for the COVID-19 pandemic should be transferred to the NDRF.

The Central Government had set up the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund on March 28 with the primary objective to deal with any kind of emergency situation like the one currently posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and provide aid to those affected.

The prime minister is the ex-officio chairman and the ministers of defence, home and finance are the ex-officio trustees of the fund.