Amend Companies Act 2013 to make CSR funds available to CMRF: TMC

The Trinamool Congress today demanded an amendment to the Companies Act 2013 to make corporate social responsibility funds available to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, TMC member Derek O' Brien asked the chair why the comprehensive framework of the ACT cannot be extended to include the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Contributions to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) is mentioned as an eligible activity under the CSR in the 2013 Act.

"The Chief Minister's Relief Fund is also used to provide relief to the most needy and distressed people of the state. The inclusion of corporate contributions to this fund as an eligible activity under CSR would bring parity. It would help the states help the needy," O'Brien told reporters here.

CSR Rules came into effect on April 1, 2014, and require companies with a net worth of Rs 500 crore or revenue of Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore to spend 2 per cent of their average profit in the last three years on social development-related activities such as sanitation, education, health care and poverty alleviation, among others.

The TMC member suggested that the House should amend the Act to help the states and claimed that all the parties except the BJP supported him on the issue.

According to Opposition parties, the TMC's move is being seen as a step to take all the federal parties on board on a particular issue.