Bhubaneswar: Individuals and organizations donated whole-heartedly during the Covid-19 outbreak to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) in the state, documents from the government have revealed.
According to a reply furnished by the state government, the emergency fund received a total of Rs 580 crore in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In their detailed reply, the General Administration department said as on June 8, 2020 a sum of Rs 580,13,78,767 was received in the Chief Minister Relief Fund ( CMRF) from different organisations/individuals. The government also claims that a sum of Rs 178,34,18,000 (31 per cent) has so far been released for different purposes towards combating the pandemic till June 8.
The details claimed that a maximum Rs 44.5 crore has been allocated to Collectors as initial allotment for COVID expenditure while an additional Rs 20 crore was sanctioned to Ganjam Collector Vijay Amrut Kulange for Covid expenditure keeping in mind the high number of COVID cases detected in the region.
The highest Rs 60 crore has been sanctioned to the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department as quarantine incentives to be given away at the rate of Rs 2,000 per inmate. The Housing and Urban Development department has been sanctioned Rs 19 crore as assistance to street vendors.
The police department has been given Rs 15 crore for welfare of police personnel during the COVID 19 pandemic. An additional amount ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore has been given to Collectors of Khurda, Bolangir, Nuapada, Kandhamal to handle COVID-19 cases, an RTI reply by the government claimed. The RTI was filed by activist Pradip Pradhan.
Another reply from the National Health Mission (NHM) claimed that it had received a total of Rs 3,33,70,00,000 (Rs 333 crore) from different sources.