CSR should be seen as an aspect of ease of doing business : Rajiv Gauba [ Chief Secretary, Jharkhand ]

Ranchi, Jharkhand | July | 23,  2015 :: The Jharkhand CSR Council (JCSRC), headed by the Chief Minister, was set up earlier this year (31 March 2015) with UNICEF Jharkhand technical support. A JCSRC meeting was held in Project Building here today.

Rajiv Gauba, Chief Secretary, Government of Jharkhand said, “CSR should be seen as an aspect of ease of doing business. Itis not an act of charity or philanthropy rather it should be in line with the felt needs of the people. The CSR activities and spend should be aligned to the companies scale of operation in the state. Today, new areas/initiatives which can be taken up under CSR have been put up by the department secretaries. We seek your continued support and will ensure constant dialogue between the government and companies.”

Ms. Himani Pandey, Secretary, Department of Industries presented the progress on the JCSRC activities and the way forward. As a result of the constant follow up by the JCSRC the CSR spend by companies in 2015-16 has gone up to Rs. 875.5 crores from Rs. 366.00 crores in 2014-15 in Jharkhand. To review progress on CSR activitiesDistrict CSR Committes have been set up districts.

A total of 13 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI s) have been picked up by companies to be run using CSR funds. These ITI s are Jagannathpur (TATA Steel); Manoharpur (SAIL); Jhinkpani (ACC); Itchak (Usha Martin); Domchanch (DVC); Simdega & Gumla (Mecon); Simharia (CCL); Chandankyari (Electrosteels Ltd); Kasmar (SAIL – BSL), Govindpur & Baghmara (BCCL) & Godda (ECL). Infrastructure support is also being provided to government schools & health centres by various companies besides rejuvenation of lakes and ponds.

In phase II of the JCSRC planning, companies support is soughtfor running centralized kitchens for provision of mid-day meal in schools; improving KGBVs; developing model anganwadi centres in districts &repair/restoration/renovation/conservation of places of cultural interest.

A link to the JCSRC has been created on the Department of Industries website as a repository of all CSR related notifications, meeting minutes, guidelines, templates, etc. (http://jharkhandindustry.gov.in/index.html)

In the coming months the JCSRC supported by UNICEF & CII will conduct capacity building programmes for companies on the Child Rights & Business Principals (CRBP) as well as document the CSR good practices in the state.

The meeting was attended by the Secretaries/representatives of various departments – Rural Development; WCD; Urban Development; HRD; Welfare; Drinking Water & Sanitation; Skill Development, Art Culture & Tourism and representatives from BCCL, SAIL, NTPC, UCIL, CCL, DVC, JSPL, Usha Martin, Hindalco, Rungta Mines, Electrosteels Ltd and TATA Steel.