Maharashtra govt admits to having spent disaster funds on ‘other’ things
The Maharashtra government has admitted to the Bombay High Court that it has not used the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for mitigating any natural disaster since the fund was first created in 2015.
The state government’s admission comes at a time when large parts of the state have been declared drought-hit.
According to a report by Mumbai Mirror, it also acknowledged that the funds were availed for purposes other than providing relief during natural calamities.
At the moment, SDRF reserves stand at Rs 1,717 crore.
The state government made the admission while responding to an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL) on the implementation of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The SDRF and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) were created by the Centre in 2015 as contingency funds available only for disaster-related expenditure.
The Centre contributes 75 percent of the SDRF’s corpus, while the state puts in the rest.
The unspent amount from the fund can only be invested in government securities and nationalised banks, the tabloid reported. The interest earned from such investments is credited to the SDRF.
The Maharashtra government did not create a separate account till the High Court directed it to do so in September this year. It reportedly acknowledged that it had violated the norms.
Around 180 out of the 358 talukas in the state have been declared drought-affected. The Maharashtra government is expected to spend around Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 crore on drought mitigation.
