Times of India: Mumbai: Tuesday, 23 November 2021.
The corpus under the Maharashtra Chief Minister Covid-19 Relief Fund has ballooned to Rs 799 crore, almost double of what it was six months ago. Of that, the state government’s fund disbursal remains poor at Rs 192 crore or 24%, said activist Anil Galgali who sought details of the total amount deposited into the fund and spent under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Galgali said his RTI query has revealed that Rs 606.3 crore was lying unutilised. The lion’s share at Rs 82.4 crore was spent on the fare of migrant labourers from 36 districts. Then the second highest donation, at Rs 49.8 crore, was given to sex workers for Covid care.
“The state should stop taking fresh donations now,” said Galgali, who had filed multiple RTIs seeking details of the Maharashtra CM Covid-19 Relief Fund. Earlier, in May 2021, Galgali received a response stating the fare of migrant labourers located across various districts was pegged at Rs 55.2 crore. The amount spent towards migrant labourers was transferred to the respective collectors of the state so that the railway fare could be paid.
Galgali has written to CM Uddhav Thackeray demanding that Covid funds be used to improve the healthcare services being offered in the BMC and other government hospitals.
When TOI contacted the Chief Minister’s Office, the officials said they were unable to currently comment on whether accepting fresh donations would be stopped. Also, it was unclear if there were any plans on how the remaining Rs 606 crore would be utilised.
The state set up the CM’s Covid relief fund to help the government tackle the impact of the pandemic and appealed to people to donate money into it. The donations get an income-tax waiver under Section 80(G).
The corpus under the Maharashtra Chief Minister Covid-19 Relief Fund has ballooned to Rs 799 crore, almost double of what it was six months ago. Of that, the state government’s fund disbursal remains poor at Rs 192 crore or 24%, said activist Anil Galgali who sought details of the total amount deposited into the fund and spent under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Galgali said his RTI query has revealed that Rs 606.3 crore was lying unutilised. The lion’s share at Rs 82.4 crore was spent on the fare of migrant labourers from 36 districts. Then the second highest donation, at Rs 49.8 crore, was given to sex workers for Covid care.
“The state should stop taking fresh donations now,” said Galgali, who had filed multiple RTIs seeking details of the Maharashtra CM Covid-19 Relief Fund. Earlier, in May 2021, Galgali received a response stating the fare of migrant labourers located across various districts was pegged at Rs 55.2 crore. The amount spent towards migrant labourers was transferred to the respective collectors of the state so that the railway fare could be paid.
Galgali has written to CM Uddhav Thackeray demanding that Covid funds be used to improve the healthcare services being offered in the BMC and other government hospitals.
When TOI contacted the Chief Minister’s Office, the officials said they were unable to currently comment on whether accepting fresh donations would be stopped. Also, it was unclear if there were any plans on how the remaining Rs 606 crore would be utilised.
The state set up the CM’s Covid relief fund to help the government tackle the impact of the pandemic and appealed to people to donate money into it. The donations get an income-tax waiver under Section 80(G).
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