Months after speculations on whether or not it is government fund, a PMO under secretary has filed an affidavit filed has said that PM CARES is not a government fund. Money collected by PMCARES does not go to the Consolidated Fund of India, the secretary told Delhi High Court.
The affidavit added that the trust functions with transparency and its funds are audited by an auditor – a chartered accountant drawn from the panel prepared by Comptroller and Auditor General.
The response came after a petition was filed in the HC, seeking a direction to declare the PM CARES Fund a ‘State’ under the Constitution. Further hearing has been scheduled for September 27.
“To ensure transparency, the audited report is put on the official website of the trust along with the details of utilisation of funds received by the trust. I state that when the petitioner is claiming to be a public-spirited person and seeking to pray for various reliefs only for transparency, it does not matter whether PM Cares is a ‘State’ within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India,” the affidavit said.