THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In gross violation of all norms, V S Achuthanandan sanctioned Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to a Trust run by Orissa state secretary of the CPM during the fag end of his tenure as the Chief Minister. The donation of Rs 5 lakh to Janardan Pati, chairman of Lok Shakti Trust, had been made not for any relief measures but for constructing a building for an Old Age Home. VS’s benevolent gesture to a fellow comrade is in stark contrast to the general stand he had taken with regard to the distribution of CMDRF. He had taken care not to give any amount from the Fund even to the dependents of persons who committed suicide and dependents of those who die following illness as it did not comply with the norms. Pati received the amount to construct an Old Age Home at Eranch village in Cuttack district. The existing norms had no provision to sanction amount from the Fund for construction purpose. The LDF Government issued orders in this regard on February 4, 2010. The proposal was cleared by the Cabinet on February 2. Sources in the government said that hundreds of genuine applications seeking Rs 500 to Rs 5000 as aid had been rejected by VS citing norms during his five-year tenure. Huge amounts are sanctioned from the CMDRF only during emergencies such as natural calamities. Normally, the eligibility of beneficiary of the CMDRF should be a resident of Kerala. Assistance is given to people suffering from chronic diseases, those ravaged by natural calamities such as flood, cyclones, fire etc, dependents of those who meet with accidental death and those who incur loss of domestic animals provided their annual family income is less than Rs 20,000. In case of death of an adult the dependents may be given Rs 30,000 from the CMDRF. A minor’s death would make the dependent eligible for just Rs 15,000. To get a paltry amount of Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 one has to submit various certificates as supporting documents. It may also be recalled that the decision of the VS Government to sanction Rs 5 crore for Pakistan as flood relief on September 15, 2010 from the CMDRF had become a controversy.
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