BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday sought specific provisions in the Company’s Act-2013 to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds available to the chief minister’s relief fund (CMRF).
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naveen said there is need for augmentation of CMRF resources through contribution of CSR fund of the corporates.
The chief minister said the Odisha CMRF, like that of other states, uses it fund for various pro-poor activities.
“Some such examples are relief to eligible indigent persons for their medical treatment, ex-gratia to the next of the kin of the poor deceased in case of their unnatural and untimely death, compensation to the victims of road/rail accident and assistance to the family of poor deceased for performance of his last rites,” Naveen said.
The CMRF fund is also utilized for providing dead body carriers (hearse) to the government health institutions for easy transportation of dead body form the place of death to the house of the deceased or place of cremation or burial ground under the Mahaprayan scheme.
Naveen said the Odisha CMRF has showed its generosity by even providing relief to victims of other states/country such as Jammu and Kashmir and Nepal in the event of severe natural calamity there.
“Looking into the gamut of its activities, it is felt that there is a need to augment the funds for CMRF. A Number of eligible poor are still left unattended by the CMRF,” Naveen said adding ‘the shortage of resources in CMRF can be addressed, to some extent, through the CSR fund of the public/private companies.’
The chief minister said though contribution to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) is considered as an eligible activity under the CSR fund under the Company’s Act, there is no provision for contribution to state CMRFs.
“Hence, there is a dire need to include ‘contribution to state CMRFs’ as an eligible activity under CSR. This will also bring parity with the existing provision of contribution to PMNRF,” Naveen noted.
According to CSR policy rules, 2014, every company, private limited or Public Sector-with a net worth of Rs 500 crore or a turnover of Rs 1000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore-must spend at least 2 per cent of its average profit on CSR activities.
(Times of India)
