Plea In Delhi High Court Seeks Court Monitored Probe Into Alleged Siphoning Of Funds Collected Under CM Covid-19 Relief Fund

The development follows a viral social media post of a RTI reply as per which, the Fund received over ₹ 34.77 crore between March 2020 and January 2021, while in the same period the expenses were ₹ 17.27 crore. Details of the expenses were not mentioned in the reply.

In response to a query on how much money was spent to control the COVID-19 pandemic, the RTI reply stated— Nil.

Accordingly, the petition filed by Advocate Pratyush Prasanna and one Sameet Thakkar seeks financial details of the Fund.

"The abovementioned response under the RTI exposes the mendacity of the State Government of Delhi in stating its preparedness regarding the fight against Covid-19 outbreak," the plea states.

It is argued that the 'legitimate expectation' of the citizens of Delhi who contributed towards the fight against the COVID-19 virus was that the State Government of Delhi would utilize the contributions towards preparing for improvement of the health infrastructure including but not limited to ensuring adequate oxygen beds, testing kits, PPE kits, ICU beds, ventilators, etc.

However, there is an evident shortage of medical facilities in the national capital, the plea says.

Thus, the Court has been urged to seek clarification on behalf of Delhi residents regarding their contributed amount to the COVID-19 Relief Fund and the expenses thereof.

It is also prayed that a direction be made to the Delhi Government to immediately stop advertising work carried out by the Government and instead, utilise the money for public health and infrastructure.

The matter was mentioned today and is likely to come up for hearing on May 3, 2021.

The petition is filed through Advocate Snigdha Singh.