India News | Punjab Govt Not Releasing Money Received in CM's Relief Fund: SAD

Chandigarh, July 23 (PTI) The Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday accused the Punjab government of not releasing any money out of the sum received in the Chief Minister Relief Fund for assisting hospitals, patients and those affected adversely by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement here, SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema claimed it was shocking that more than Rs 64 crore was accumulated in a private bank under the CM Relief Fund but the money was “not being utilized” for those suffering due to the pandemic.

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“As per reports more money is being deposited in the bank on an everyday basis but there is no release of any kind except for two releases of Rs 2.28 crore a long time back”, he alleged.

Cheema said corporate houses, businessmen, government employees as well as ordinary citizens had contributed to the CM Relief Fund following an appeal for helping Punjabis.

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He said it was “shocking” that the Congress government had not thought it fit to release the money for buying safety equipment for doctors, ventilators or other infrastructure in hospitals.

He said similarly the government did not even think it fit to subsidize the medical treatment of COVID-19 patients who were being forced to pay “hefty” amounts in private hospitals.

“The government also did not spend money from this fund to halt the flight of migrant workers from the state or offer them of skilled workmen who lost their livelihood during the lockdown any compensation/

“The money from this fund could have also been used to subsidise tuition and admission fees of children of private schools whose parents' earning capacity has been affected during the lockdown,” he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)