The National Disaster Response Fund was opened up for donation from individuals and institutions in June 2020, but according to information procured through Right to Information, it turns out that just about Rs 63,000 has been donated to the fund between July 13, 2020 and February 26, 2021.
On June 19, 2020, the Ministry of Finance had given clearance for contributions or grants by individuals and institutions to the NDRF, as per Section 46(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. On July 10, 2020, the NDMA’s website had uploaded the link for ‘Modalities for Contribution to NDRF’. Later, on July 18, 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a press release through the Press Information Bureau stating that “Central Government allows contributions from any person or institution in the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)” as also giving out information about the ‘Modalities for Contribution to NDRF’.
However, according to information provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs in response to an RTI query made by Commodore Lokesh Batra (Retd.), the fund has, between July 13, 2020 and February 26, 2021, received a total amount of Rs 63,014 as contributions made by individual and institutional donors. The donations ranged from a minimum amount of Rs 500 to a maximum of Rs 25,000.
Batra, who made the first contribution to the NDRF on July 13, 2020, of Rs 10,000, had written several letters in April-May 2020 to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the the Ministry of Finance and the National Disaster Management Authority demanding that the fund be opened up for donations from individuals and institutions. Subsequently, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla approached the Ministry of Finance to stipulate a mechanism for such donations.
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The veteran RTI activist is of the opinion that the fact that donations can be made to the NDRF by individuals and institutions has not been made public enough even as the PM CARES fund has got wide publicity.
In an open letter to the Home Secretary on May 6, 2021, Batra made a plea for aggressively publicising the fact that contribution by individuals and institutions can be made to NDRF in order to mobilise maximum contribution from India and abroad. He also suggested that there should be an Income Tax exemption for contributors and an FCRA exemption for contributions from abroad. He said there was a need for maximising contributions in view of the national health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Unlike the opaque PM-CARES Fund, NDRF is subject to RTI and CAG audit. While the government is using its entire machinery to advertise the PM CARES Fund, why is NDRF not being publicised,” Batra asked.