SC puts AP govt on notice for diverting State Disaster Management Funds

"State of Andhra Pradesh has diverted funds from SDRF to personal deposit account which is not permissible at all under Disaster Management Act," observed the court.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Andhra Pradesh government to refrain from transferring funds from State Disaster Relief Fund(SDRF) to personal deposit accounts and take corrective action for money already transferred. SDRF fund is being utilized to distribute ex gratia amount to the kins of those who died due to Covid 19 in the pandemic.

"State of Andhra Pradesh has diverted funds from SDRF to personal deposit account which is not permissible at all under Disaster Management Act," observed the court.

"Issue notice to only the state of Andhra Pradesh returnable on 28 April 2022. ASG Aishwarya Bharti accepts notice on behalf of the Union of India. In the meanwhile state of Andhra Pradesh is hereby restrained from transferring funds from SDRF to a personal deposit account. If already transferred the same shall not be utilized for purposes other than the provisions of the disaster management act," ordered the court.

The bench comprising of Justice MR Shah and Justice BV Nagaratha was hearing the petition that had sought compensation for families who lost their members due to Covid 19. The orders on that have already been passed, wherein Rs 50,000 has to be paid to the kins. In an earlier hearing the court had also set timelines and had asked the states to be efficient in the distribution of money to the applicants.

Today, the court was informed that AP has been diverting funds and the central government's Finance Ministry has also questioned the state regarding the same.
The matter will be heard again on 28th April.