Money for poor going somewhere else: Supreme Court

It observed that there is no record as to how Rs 5,000 crore money was spent and directed the CAG to file the report within two weeks. “Out of the Rs 26,000 crore, Rs 5,000 crore have been spent. We do not know where the money has been spent. You have to ensure that it is not spent for tea or lunch,” a bench comprising Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh. 

“A lot of money is involved in this. It is supposed to go to the poorest people of the country. It is not going to them. It is going somewhere else. It is a very important matter. The money should reach to the poorest people,” the bench said. Singh told the bench that the money was lying with the state governments and “it is not that the money has disappeared”. The court, however, observed that what has been conveyed to it was shocking and the Centre must find a way to deal with the situation. “What has been told to us is very shocking. You have to find out a solution. It is a matter of 26,000 crore,” the bench told the ASG. The bench then fixed the matter for further hearing on May 5.