Rahul alleges only one-third PM Cares spent, govt says projects in pipeline

By Payal Mehta
New Delhi [India], February 10 : The latest audited report showed that "PM CARES", which was set up to deal with several emergencies collected Rs 10,990 crore in the 2020-21 financial year, while only Rs 3,976 crore, one-third, was spent. The government sources, however, said that several initiatives have been approved, which would be funded by the "PM CARES".
Forner Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday had trained guns at the Centre, accusing it of spreading lies on the "PM CARES" fund spend.
"PM CARES collected Rs 10,990 crore till March 2021, spent Rs 3,976 crore," Gandhi tweeted with the caption "PM Lies".
The government sources while speaking to ANI clarified that "PM CARES" has approved Rs 7,690 crore for various initiatives related to COVID-19 relief and all the funds have been fully utilized till March 2021.
"Under the COVID-19 emergency, more than 1200 PSA plants for oxygen generation have been set up across all districts of the country and one lakh oxygen concentrators have been sent to state health facilities," sources said.
Refuting the report on the "PM-CARES" Fund, the government sources informed that around 50,000 ventilators have been procured and more than 6.6 crore COVID-19 vaccination doses have been given from this fund.
"This fund has also been used to set up more than 3,500 COVID beds across the country," sources added.
Further, sources stated that it is also important to maintain sufficient balance in "PM CARES" fund to meet requirements during any further emergency.