Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), a public-sector undertaking under the Ministry of Power has contributed Rs. 25 crore towards Swachh Bharat Kosh as per Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The cheque was handed over by P.V. Ramesh Babu, CMD, Rural Electric Corporation (REC), to Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, who is also the chairperson of the Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK) as part of REC’s CSR activity. Also present were Parmeshwaran Iyer, secretary, ministry of drinking water and sanitation and Vivek Joshi, administrator, SBK and senior officers of REC.
REC has also contributed Rs. 25 crore towards this noble cause earlier in August 2016, thus making a total contribution of Rs. 50 crore to the Swachh Bharat Kosh. Apart from this, Rural Electrification Corporation has also constructed 194 toilets during the current fiscal.
REC is committed to supporting the Government of India’s mission for Swachh Bharat. As a step in this direction, REC had, during the FY 2014-15 and 2015-16, constructed a total of 12,292 toilets. These toilets are spread across 33 districts in 6 states.
The SBK is to be used to achieve the objective of improving cleanliness levels in rural and urban areas, including in schools. The allocation from the SBK is being used to supplement departmental resources for such activities. All donations towards Swachh Bharat Kosh are eligible for deduction of 100% from the total Income Tax. The contributions to SBK can also be included by companies towards CSR under the Companies Act, 2013.
Rural Electric Corporation (REC) is an enterprise of the Government of India under the Ministry of Power and is mandated to provide financing for the power sector development across the value chain in the field of generation, transmission, distribution and, above all, renewable energy development. REC is the coordinating agency for implementing flagship programs of the government in the power sector that include Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana scheme, the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) programme and several other initiatives of the government to ensure “Power for All”.
