‘Tribal districts deprived of CSR benefits’

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Bhubaneswar: Even though private and public sector companies are pumping in crores of rupees through their CSR activities, some tribal dominated districts in the state are deprived of the benefits.
This was revealed at a roundtable meeting jointly organised by Forum for Integrated Development and Research (FIDR) and Centre of Youth and Social Development (CYSD), a voluntary organisation, here Saturday.
According to a release issued by CYSD, nearly 279 private companies have spent more than Rs 1,700 crore in Odisha towards their CSR activities in the last four years. While over 60 per cent of CSR fund was utilised in four districts and 80 percent of the same has been utilised in 10 districts.
However, tribal dominated districts like Boudh, Nuapada and Deogarh are deprived of the CSR initiatives, the release said. Moreover, the expenditure is less than `10 crore in each year in Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj and Bargarh districts, it added.
The CSR fund should not be used in gap filling of the programs; rather it should be used as the fund to develop incubation centres for skill and technology to address the last mile issues in highly vulnerable and unreachable pockets of the state, the meeting revealed. A joint collaborative approach may help address the last mile issues in the state.
In this context, representatives from CSR and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) formed a ‘CSR Watch’ at the gathering. Representatives from various CSR units and CSOs had participated in the discussion on “CSR in Odisha: Road Map and Partnership”.
The speakers raised their concern that the CSR funds are mostly used in short-term plans and programs. But to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the development agenda must be realised at grassroot level with more sustainable and long-term vision. In this context, CSOs have enough experience in long-term sustainable development models in the interior pockets of the state and resources in the CSR programs, said the release.
Now it is the time to channelise the expertise of CSOs and contribute to the sustainable development practice in the state.
Convenor of CII, Odisha Chapter, Prasant Hota, NALCO CSR Head Basant Kumar Thakur, FIDR Secretary Charudutta Panigrahy and mentor of CYSD Jagadananda along with representatives from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), Paradip Phosphate Ltd (PPL), Nalco, TATA Sponge and other CSOs were present in the roundtable.