Thiruvananthapuram : A few persons are letting on widescale false propaganda that CMDRF lacks transparency, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Spreading such fake notions in the face of one of country’s worst disasters is outrageous. There are at least some people for whom such false propaganda will likely create misgivings, said CM at a press conference in capital on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister’s Distress Relief fund(CMDRF) is managed via digital platform. All contributions get credited into bank account number in the name of a senior IAS officer, namely, the Principal Secretary - Finance. The Principal Secretary(Finance) Ravindra Kumar Agarwal is currently in charge of the funds.
Contributions to Relief Fund are deposited into SBI City Main Branch, Thiruvananthapuram and pool accounts with other major branches. Disbursements to beneficiaries too are made from these accounts.
Pool accounts were created for smoothly operating the Relief Fund’s online portal. No money can be paid out without prior approval and seal of the Finance Secretary.
The administration of relief fund falls in the purview of the Revenue Dept, meaning, the Finance Secretary cannot withdraw or pay into the Relief Fund on his own. Transactions need instructions from the Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department.
The amounts allocated to Collector, to the Revenue Secretary, to the Revenue Minister, to the Chief Minister are all as done strictly as per government Order. Over-and-above powers rest with the Cabinet.
Also all information on contributions received, reliefs disbursed, funds utilised fall under the purview of Right to Information Act. The accounts are audited annually by CAG(Comptroller and Auditor General).
Audit for Relief Funds from 1st April 2016 to 31 August 2019 was completed by the Audit Section of Accounts General Office and the report clarified there are absolutely no irregularities.
The Legislature too is empowered to examine the Income and Expenditure accounts of the Relief Fund. A system with such high degree of transparency is being misportrayed by false propaganda, said CM. People of Kerala have survived many crises and challenges. They will tide over these misleading propaganda as well, CM added.
