Maharashtra forest minister says 25 pc of CSR funds should be reserved for environmental causes

Maharashtra's forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Thursday pitched for making it compulsory for companies to set aside a fourth of the mandated corporate social responsibility funds for environmental causes.

Mungantiwar said the concept of CER or Corporate Environmental Responsibility needs to take root in the country because businesses often desist from giving back to the environment after exploiting the natural resources.

''I've decided today to write to the Prime Minister for a slight amendment to the Companies Act, 2013 to ensure that a fourth of the CSR funds get reserved for CER,'' he told a gathering here.

Under the Act, certain class of profitable companies are required to spend at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in a financial year.

Mungantiwar said humans are the most selfish of the species, and the last two centuries since the onset of Industrial Revolution in the 19th century have taken a massive toll on the environment.

He, however, said the 'Sanatan Dharma' always understood the importance of the environment and cited Hindu practices like a woman praying for her husband around a tree to support his claim.

At the event, Union roads minister Nitin Gadkari said that many works carried out by his ministry have suffered because of weather events, and the same has impacted timely delivery of projects as well.

Exuding confidence that India will be able to meet the climate goals, Gadkari said ''we need societies which are liveable, workable and sustainable, and we need to find an equilibrium between ecological concerns and developmental needs''.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)