Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has finally refuted reports on diversion of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) .
A campaign was unleashed on social media by a section of people accusing the government of diverting the CMDRF which created confusion in the minds of people. With the propaganda unleashed at a time authorities were engaged in mobilising resources for flood relief activities, the government suspected such campaigns could adversely affect the contributions.
The operation of CMDRF is transparent and the details are available in donation.cmdrf.kerala.gov.in. The CMDRF utilization is subject to CAG audit, government is answerable to Assembly.
The government said not a single penny had been spent from CMDRF for Rebuild Kerala Initiative office. The government clarification came in the wake of a campaign on social media and main stream media about fund misuse and diversion.
The main points in rebuttal issued by government;
Like other government funds, this fund is also subject to CAG audit. The government has to reply to it in Assembly. Therefore this money is subject to proper auditing.
Each penny is received through treasury. It does not come to chief minister's personal account as being propagated. The money goes to the account of finance principal secretary and it is spent by the revenue department.
Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI) office was taken on rent using funds meant for flood relief. Not even a single penny was used from CMDRF for setting up the office. Money used from separate head of account.
The RKI office is not located in a building with five-star facilities. Not even a single paisa above the current market rent has been given for the space.
The building is not owned by one Lakshmi Nair. It is actually owned by K.V. Mathew of Muttada. An agreement was reached on the ownership, rent, associated charges. The ownership, possession and related documents were examined and ensured before taking over.
The allegation that Rs 88 lakh is being spent for RKI office is totally false. RKI is well aware that facilities cannot gain precedence over hunger and development.
RKI has held over 40 meetings in last eight months, 50 officials belonging to World Bank and other international financial agencies visited Kerala participated in over 400 meetings with department secretaries and heads.
As a result of these meetings, the process of availing loan of Rs 3,150 crore from World Bank and German international agency (KFW) is currently on. It may be noted that no international agency will give loan for free to rebuild Kerala.
The office with the technical, administrative and infrastructure facilities is being put in place to handle projects Rs10,000 crores.
