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To help clean the Ganga, visit an ATM
Why it is in news?
- The cleaning of the Ganga is not only an environmental imperative but also an issue weighted by public sentiment and national prestige.
- In a bid to make it easier for the public to participate in the efforts the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is talking to the State Bank of India (SBI) to make it possible to donate to the Clean Ganga Fund (CGF) from ATMs.
- A major aspect of the CGF is that it isn’t about collecting a lot of money but about ensuring that people from all walks of life are involved in the task of cleaning the river
Separate corpus
- While the NMCG an affiliate of the Union Water Resources Ministry is executing the government’s Rs. 20,000-crore commitment to clean the Ganga
- The CGF is a separate corpus made up of donations from corporates and individuals.
- At present, it has Rs. 250 crore in its kitty, which is being managed by the NMCG.
- The Mission already has an agreement with Yes Bank, under which its ATMs display messages on keeping the river clean.
- Since Ganga rejuvenation projects have been notified as Corporate Social Responsibility activities, donations to the CGF qualify for income tax exemption.
- A web page on CSR activities lists projects such as ghat/crematoria construction and development and cleaning of ghats and drains through bio-remediation, river surface cleaning, solid waste disposal and afforestation.
- As of now, about 90% of the CGF comes from State and Central government public sector units, according to information from the Lok Sabha.
- About Rs. 250 crore was collected as of July, and projects worth Rs. 225 crore sanctioned.
- The Shipping Corporati- on of India, Indorama Corp-oration, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, the Hinduja Group, Arcelor Mittal, Bajaj Electric-als, Amer Maritime, HCL, and Reliance Industries have either shown interest in or undertaken projects,
Source
The hindu