Maharashtra CM Relief Fund Covid-19 had received Rs 342 crore for in this dedicated account from the donors till 18th May, but surprisingly state government has spent only Rs 23.82 crore so far to control the virus borne deadly disease. This shocking revelation has come through an Right to Information (RTI) query filed by RTI Activist Anil Galgali. According to reply, the highest amount of Rs 55.20 crore has been spent to facilitate the journey of migrant labourers to their respective states while Rs. 80 lakhs were allocated to the victims or relatives of Aurangabad train accident.
RTI Activist Anil Galgali had sought details of the total amount deposited and the amount allocated in the relief fund Covid 19 account. Milind Kabadi, assistant accountant officer of CM Relief Fund, furnished the details of the deposited and allocated amount. The total amount of Rs. 342.01 crore has been deposited till 18th May 2020 while Rs 79.82 Crore were spent from this fund out of which only Rs 23.82 crore were spent in Covid-19 related arrangements.
Out of this, Rs 20 crores were allotted to St. Georges Hospital, Mumbai and Rs 3,82,50,000 were given to the Department of Medical Education. The amount attributed to the migrant labourers has been transferred to the respective collectors of the state so that the fare of the railways can be paid on time. The fare of migrant labourers located in 36 district has been pegged as Rs 53.45 crore. The railway fare of the labourers from Ratnagiri district has been quoted as Rs 1.30 crore and fare of the Sangli district labourers has been quoted as Rs 44.40 lakh. According to the reply, for the monetary help of labourers of rail accident of Aurangabad district, a financial assistance of Rs. 80 lakh, Rs 5 per deceased person, was provided from the account of Covid-19 CM Relief Fund.
According to Anil Galgali, the Maharashtra government has spent only 7 per cent of the total deposits on Covid 19 fund on health care. While 16 per cent of the fund was spent on migrant labourers to meet railway fares and 0.23 per cent was spent on the deceased in the railway accident. As on 18th May 2020, the CM Relief Fund Covid-19 had an amount of Rs 262.28 crore in balance.
Anil Galgali has written letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray demanding to spend Covid-19 fund on improving the healthcare services being offered in BMC and other government hospitals and the supply of medical services. "Only this way, State government can honor the wishes of the donors who came forward in this critical time and donated the money, expecting it will be spent to fight coronavirus pandemic," Galgali reacted.
Notably, the Maharashtra government on March 28, 2020 had set up Chief Minister's relief fund to help the government tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and appealed people to donate money into it. The donations would get income tax waiver under Section 80(g). The bank account number is 39239591720. The bank code is 00300 and IFSC code is SBIN0000300. Several NGOs, corporates and religious organizations have coming forward to contribute to the state's efforts to tackle the crisis.
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