A Right to Information activist’s query which sought information on State-wise allocation of the PM Cares fund was rejected on the ground that it was not a public authority, and instead directed him to visit the website for more information.
The city-based activist, S Q Masood, said that in May this year, as per news reports, an allocation of ₹ 2,000 crore was made to procure Indian-made ventilators, and ₹ 1,000 crore for welfare measures, including those for migrant workers.
“We have seen thousands of migrant workers in the past few weeks who were in dire straits in Telangana. The number of COVID-19 positive cases too has been increasing. It is because of this I wanted to find out State-wide allocation. That way, I could see how much has been allocated to our State of Telangana,” he said.
The activist also sought to know the status of ventilator procurement, and related information such as tenders.
On May 1, Mr Masood had filed another RTI plea seeking a copy of the bylaws of the PM Cares fund, bank statements and information about the staff working for it. However, this information too was denied. He said that he was mulling moving the courts of law to get the information.