Take up cleanliness drive for Swachh Bharat: Govt tells cos

Taking forward its agenda for Swachh Bharat, government has asked corporates to carry out cleanliness drive for a fortnight as well as take pledge in this regard.

Corporate Affairs Ministry, which is implementing the Companies Act, has asked firms and other stakeholders to carry out activities related to cleanliness for a fortnight as part of the 'Swachhata Pakhwada'.

Officials associated with the initiative said it is a voluntary exercise aimed at promoting cleanliness.

'Swachhata Pakhwada', started on June 16, would be on till June 30.

Each day, the Ministry is suggesting a particular activity like 'always keep your table clean' to ensure cleanliness.

The three apex institutes of chartered accountants, cost accountants and company secretaries along with industry bodies -- Ficci, CII and Assocham -- are part of the 'Swachhata Pakhwada'.

The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG) have also joined hands with the Ministry for the initiative.

'Swachhata Pakhwada' is based on the theme 'corporate volunteering by private organisations and corporate entities' and coincides with the United Nations Public Service Day on June 23.

Interestingly, users now have to take the Swachh Bharat pledge online to access the Corporate Affairs Ministry website.

'I will devote 100 hours per year that is two hours per week to voluntary work for cleanliness' and 'I will neither litter nor let others litter' are part of the pledge.

In 2014-15, companies shelled out more than Rs 42 crore towards 'Swachh Bharat Kosh' as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

The funds were used for achieving the objective of improving cleanliness levels in rural and urban areas, including schools.

Under the new companies law, certain class of entities are required to spent at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards CSR activities.

As many as 460 companies spent a little over Rs 6,337 crore for CSR activities in 2014-15. This included 51 PSUs which spent Rs 2,386.60 crore.

Swachh Bharat is a pet project of the Narendra Modi-led government, which has been making various efforts to improve cleanliness as well as sensitise people about it.