By the people, for the people

Ever since its institution in late March upon the dawn of the worst pandemic in a hundred years, the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund or PM CARES has raised both donations and questions in plenty. A public charitable trust set up with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency such as the one posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide relief to those affected is how the Fund has been described on its official website. But this 'public charitable trust' to be filled by the 'public' through donations and meant to assist the 'public' during calamities does not divulge information sought by the same 'public'. Its opacity thereby leaves the public unsettled. PMO's refusal to provide the information sought under RTI regarding the fund, stating that it is not a public authority and therefore exempted from RTI, does not fit the bill. Right from the purpose to trustees to beneficiaries, everything regarding the fund is associated with public and yet, it is the public that has been denied the information sought by it regarding the functioning of the public charitable trust. Seeking such information is not unusual either. Since the fund appears to be filled by people and for people, people ought to know the where and how of the money involved. Given the grim period that the country is passing through and witnessing the appalling conditions that migrant workers are reeling under, there is a moral public urge to know how funds collected for the said purpose is being utilised. The reply by PMO also states that "relevant information in respect of PM CARES Fund may be seen on the website pmcares.gov.in". The kind of information provided on the said website draws a sharp contrast with the kind of information sought by the public. 'Relevant information' is quite subjective per se. The website provides the public with objectives of PM CARES and means to donate along with donations being subject to tax deductions and deemed as CSR contributions. The FAQ section includes those questions that the government was rather comfortable to answer in this regard and not those that the public may have desired to know. And, the denial of information under RTI further corroborates that inference. Denying information to public that is entirely in their interest blemishes the doctrine of transparency that a democracy, let alone the world's largest, strives for.

The need for the creation of a new fund, especially when PM National Relief Fund with an unused corpus of Rs 38,000 crore exists, has also remained unaddressed. It has been notified that the CAG will not audit the PM CARES. While PMNRF is also privately audited, the move does not fit this government's often cited goal of transparency. The only 'relevant' information in the public domain is the allocation of Rs 3,100 crore on May 13 for ventilators, vaccine development and the welfare of migrant workers lacking any details. Unlike the electoral bonds that are primarily for political parties, PM CARES is for the distressed public. However, both suffer from a similar pseudo-transparency syndrome. It would be prudent if PM CARES is audited by CAG and displays a record of donations received and transactions done/ to be done in the public interest. Greater the transparency, higher will be public morale with respect to the state of governance, especially in this turbulent phase. According to an analysis by IndiaSpend, at least Rs 9,677.9 crore or $1.27 billion has been collected under PM CARES. This figure has been derived from PIB press releases, media reports on private companies and individuals donating money to this fund. It is quite clear from the methodology of deriving the total amount in the fund that transparency has taken a setback in this case. The fund is by the people for the people and it should reflect so. The government must clear the air regarding PM CARES; the sooner, the better!