CHENNAI: A statement in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that
Clean Ganga Fund
under
corporate social responsibility
(CSR) had been used in Tamil Nadu, with firms spending Rs 52 lakh in the past three years, raised eyebrows and DMK’s P
Wilson
tweeted: “I didn’t know Ganga flows through TN!”.
To a question raised by Wilson, the Union corporate affairs ministry replied that ‘Clean Ganga Fund’ was among those used for CSR projects in Tamil Nadu.
When contacted, the
National Mission for Clean Ganga
(
NMCG
), under the
Union Jal Shakti
ministry, said
Clean Ganga Funds
were not released for Tamil Nadu.
In his reply, minister of state for corporate affairs
Rao Inderjit Singh said 1,316 companies spent Rs 919 crore under CSR in 2019-20 in Tamil Nadu, against the Rs 627.7 crore spent in 2017-18 and Rs 829.3 crore spent in 2018-19.
Agro-forestry, education, healthcare, clean Ganga fund and slum area development are among the 28 sectors listed for funding under CSR in TN.
Details on the list of projects were not furnished and Wilson charged that there was no transparency. “For instance, what were the activities taken up through the Clean Ganga Funds in Tamil Nadu? I will write to the ministry seeking more details in this regard,” he said.
An NMCG official said Clean Ganga Funds were used for development in the Ganga basin.
“But, several corporates are taking up activities on rejuvenation of Ganga under CSR funds. So, probably one such firm could have done works under CSR funds and used the name Ganga.”
As per Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, every company having net worth of more than Rs 500 crore, turnover of above Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of more than Rs 5 crore during the immediately preceding financial year has to spend at least 2% of the average net profits towards CSR.