J'hand govt should control the expenses of CSR funds, fin min writes to chief secy
Sharing a copy of an order by Himachal Pradesh govt along with the letter to CS, Kishore said that the hilly state decided to take control over CSR to prevent unnecessary expenditure and wastage of CSR funds.
"All expenditure proposals under CSR are presented with complete facts to the Chief Minister for decision, and only after their approval can CSR funds be spent. A similar arrangement should be made in Jharkhand too," he noted.
He added that under the aim of CSR spending is to develop the socio-economic sector through women's empowerment, environmental protection, afforestation, rural development, water conservation, disaster relief, rehabilitation, and preservation of arts and culture.
However, the banks in Jharkhand are not spending CSR funds on the topics prescribed by the central govt.
"Some banks have distributed school bags worth Rs two lakhs among students in two or four schools in Jharkhand in the name of CSR, which does not fulfill the objective of promoting education.
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Similarly, a bank installed 200 ceiling fans in Dhanbad Police Line in 2022-23, a drinking water cooler, RO purifier in DRDO Office, Chatra in 2024-25, and 3 LED screens in Dhanbad Collectorate is against the core objectives of CSR," he said.
"There is a need for govt/private banks to adopt one backward village in each of the 24 districts of the state every year and use CSR funds for strengthening basic infrastructure like education, water supply, water conservation, women's empowerment, rural development, and environmental protection in those villages.
HDFC Bank has shown an expenditure of Rs 148.16 crore under CSR for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
There is no mention of the area in which work was done. This should be a matter of investigation," he cited.
He also enumerated that the govt has noted that sometimes these funds are spent on programs/activities that also receive state govt funds leading to wastage.
"There is a need to establish a transparent system to ensure that CSR funds are used only for the topics prescribed by the central govt. My proposal is that all expenditure proposals under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be presented to the Chief Minister for decision. Further action should be taken only after obtaining the CM's consent for the implementation of the proposal," he underlined.
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