Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the Prime Minister to allow business houses to contribute money for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to Chief Minister’s Relief Funds (CMRF).
The letter points out ‘one major infirmity in the present CSR framework as provided in the Companies Act 2013’ concerning the interest of the States. While contributions to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was mentioned as an eligible activity under CSR in the 2013 Act, the same made to CMRFs was not considered as an activity ‘eligible for contribution under the CSR’, as per the letter.
Hence, the letter reads, ‘it will indeed be praiseworthy if contribution to CMRF in the states is also made an eligible activity under CSR. The little contribution would be very helpful to all the states to extend the much-desired assistance and relief to people in need.’
Mamata Banerjee has written that the CMRFs are always under financial constraints because of limited donations from companies, and also that, if the proposal is accepted by the Centre, the contributions will also enable the donors to claim tax breaks.
Source: Millennium Post