THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has demanded that State Relief Funds to be made eligible for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding by making changes to the Companies Act.
"The state government is of the opinion that contributions to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Funds should be included as an eligible expenditure under CSR", Vijayan told reporters here on Monday.
In a federal setup, the relief funds set up by the States for a public purpose cannot be excluded from the eligibility criteria when the same is available for a Central Fund set up with similar objectives and aims, he said.
The Chief Minister said in a letter to the Prime Minister, he had requested his intervention to "correct this inequality" which was against the principles underlying cooperative federalism and adds to the fiscal stress of the states.
"Necessary changes should be brought in to the Companies Act to include CMDRF also eligible for CSR funding", he said.