Letters: Spending transparency

Apropos the reports "Govt notifies rules for CSR activities" and "EC issues revised guidelines for transparency in party funds" (February 28), any initiative to bring transparency in spending from corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and to curb the use of black money for contesting elections should be welcomed. Even the long list of "eligible" activities that can be funded with CSR allocations has not satisfied corporations that crave for more flexibility. In the matter of social responsibility and avoidance of unethical practices in election expenditure, there are bound to be constraints for any regulatory approach to succeed. The final "judge" will be society, and the aam aadmi who exercises his right to vote. The media and the educated population should play their role in creating awareness about the spirit of the guidelines among the masses. Meanwhile, it would be desirable to keep donations like the ones given to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund outside CSR, so these funds could be directly deployed for the benefit of the geographical areas from which the corporations operate.

M G Warrier Thiruvananthapuram

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