Coimbatore CSR Conclave 2019 was held on 10.8.2019 in The Residency Towers. The event was organized by CSR Spark to create awareness among stakeholders like Corporates, NGOs etc about the CSR program. K.Rajamani IAS, District Collector was the Chief Guest. Dr A.V.Varadharajan Chairman, A.V.Group of Companies & V.Krishnakumar, President, SIEMA were the Guests of Honor.
In his inaugural address, the collector said, the Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami has acknowledged and appreciated the good work done by the Corporate companies, NGOs and private organizations in Coimbatore in the spheres of water management and installing the rain water harvesting system.
The Collector said that in the wake of the unseasonal rains, the Chief Minister held a review meeting with District Collectors on the two aspects of water management and the need for popularizing the rain water harvesting system. At that time, the Chief Minister took note of the good works done by Coimbatore people in this regard.
K.Rajamani said that the people of Coimbatore were socially conscious and were in the know of things, ie., the societal needs and how to fulfill them. For instance, the L&T Company had contributed a sum of Rs 50 lakhs for improving the healthcare system at Thirumalaiyampatti near Madukkarai.
In the fields of education, healthcare, child development and women empowerment the contribution of Coimbatore district was praiseworthy. Their participation and involvement in the Corporate Social Responsibility was one step ahead of others.
K.Rajamani said that the annual CSR contribution from Coimbatore district was in the region of Rs 300 crore. In terms of utilizing this fund and selection of programs, the stakeholders, including the Corporates and NGOs were in full compliance with the rules and in conformity with the people’s requirements.
He underscored the point that the corporates and the industrial houses were cooperating well with the government authorities, including the District Administration, in the development of the district.
It could be said that even the private endeavor in this direction outstripped the government efforts. The Collector made a request to the organizer that the District Administration could also be involved in the planning and implementation of the CSR activities.
The Collector said that the District Administration was all more ready to extend all possible help in this direction and remove the hurdles in its way. The collector also released a book – CSR Reference Manual
Dr A.V.Varadharajan, in his address said that every human activity has its positive and negative impact on the society. The industries and corporate have grown because of the society.
Therefore, it was their obligation and moral responsibility to “set right the damages done to the environment.” He underscored the point that no company was set up for the creation of jobs; job creation was only a byproduct.
Dr Varadharajan further said that many people have not felt the pain caused by poverty in the country. There were elderly people who were suffering from terminal illness were living in squalid conditions. The CSR was all about investing money for the right cause within the law, he said.
Nikhil Pant, CSR Resource Person, said that the CSR had opened up five years ago. Ever since, there have been many notifications and amendments. It was not an affair with the Corporates and the Governments; the NGOs have a well-defined role to play.
He said that there could not be better rules and regulations than the CSR. One need not be unduly worried about the penal action or imprisonment for non-compliance. Many big companies had complied with the CSR norms.
For instance, the ONGC had contributed a lot for improving the living condition of the people at Baramulla and Uri in Jammu & Kashmir. Later, Pant went on explaining the finer aspects of CSR and through an interactive session he cleared the doubts raised by the delegates.
V.Krishnakumar, President, SIEMA, in his speech said that social responsibility was very much part of the Tamil culture. This was clearly defined by Avviyar in “Aathichudi” and Bharathiar.
R.S.Krishnasamy, Founder and Chief Patron, CSR Spark and a Professional certified by IICA, called for setting up of a CSR Hub in Coimbatore to fill the gaps and to list out the NGOs. The CSR portal was at present playing the advisory role. It proposed to give accreditation to the implementing agencies and institute awards for the best performing corporate/companies.
P P Subramaniam, Patron CSR Spark proposed Vote of Thanks.