Make CSR funds available to State CMRFs: Odisha CM Naveen to PM

KalingaTV News Network

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds available to State Chief Minister’s Relief Funds (CMRFs).

In a letter to Modi, Naveen apprised that the Odisha CMRF, like that of other states, uses its fund for various pro-poor activities like relief to eligible indigent persons for their medical treatment, ex-gratia to the next of kin of the poor deceased in case of their unnatural and untimely death, compensation to the victims of road/rail accident, assistance to the family of poor deceased for performance of his last rites under an initiative titled as Harischandra Sahayata Yojana, providing dead body carriers (hearse) to the government health institutions for easy transportation of dead body from the place of death to the house of the deceased or place of cremation/burial ground under the banner termed “Mahaprayan” and many such purposes.

The CM also informed the PM that the Odisha CMRF has shown its generosity by even providing relief to victims of the other states/country such as Jammu & Kashmir and Nepal in the event of severe natural calamity there.

“Looking into the gamut of its activities, it is felt that there is need to augment the funds for CMRF,” said Naveen adding, “Its, therefore, requested that a specific provision for contribution to the State CMRFs may also be included in the Companies Act, 2013 similar to that appearing in item (IX) of its Schedule –VII, as an eligible CSR activity.”