Change law for CSR money flow into CM Relief Fund, PM urged

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sought some changes in the law so that companies could contribute to Chief Minister's Relief Fund from their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, as they are able to do in the case of Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Patnaik suggested for bringing in certain amendments in the Companies Act, 2013, for donating CSR funds to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF).

"Looking into the gamut of its activities, it is felt that there is a need to augment the funds for CMRF," Patnaik said in his letter yesterday.

A number of eligible poor are left unattended by the CMRF because of the lack of funds, and this shortage could be addressed, to some extent, through the CSR fund of the public or private companies, he said.

As per rule, every company with either a net worth of Rs 500 crore or a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or a net profit of Rs 5 crore, has to spend at least 2 per cent of its average net profit on CSR activities, the chief minister said.

State governments uses the CMRF for paying eligible people for medical treatment, for ex-gratia to the next of kin of a deceased in case of unnatural death like accidents, for performance of last rites, for victims of natural disasters, etc.