In a setback to the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Monday directed that the government return Rs 1100 crore of Covid-19 relief funds it had allegedly diverted from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for funding its welfare schemes.
A division bench of the Supreme Court comprising justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna found fault with the Jagan government for diverting the money meant for distribution of ex gratia to the families of Covid-19 victims into the personal deposit (PD) accounts to fund the welfare schemes, particularly the Rythu Bharosa.
Describing the diversion of funds meant for disaster relief for other purposes as a serious matter, the bench asked the government to refund the money of Rs 1100 crore to the SDRF within next two weeks.
It also asked the government to settle all claims of the Covid-19 relief beneficiaries within four weeks of the receipt of their application. In April this year, the bench restrained the state government from using the money if the amount had already been transferred.
The Supreme Court gave the judgement after a prolonged hearing on the petition filed by former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao.
He was quoting a letter written by Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary to TDP MP Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu on March 12, 2022, giving details of the alleged diversion that was flagged by the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) in its report on state finances for the year ending March 2020.
The letter, issued by the finance ministry, stated that the Andhra Pradesh government received Rs 324.15 crore as the central share of the SDRF and Rs 570.91 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) from the Centre.
According to the letter, an amount of Rs 1,100 crore was transferred from these funds to the personal deposit account of the commissioner, directorate of agriculture, towards payment of input subsidy to farmers for the kharif crop as a “gratuitous relief”, the letter said.
“The CAG report includes that the state government transferred Rs 1,100 crore to personal deposit account by showing the expenditure as disaster relief and rehabilitation in violation of the appropriation act,” Rao’s application said.
The CAG flagged the expenditure as “the state government has transferred the funds from SDRF to personal deposit account without spending on immediate relief”, he said.
Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, supported the application. She assured the Court that she would get back on any further communication received from state on this aspect.
