Oil PSUs spend 4% of profit on CSR vs 2% norm: Hardeep Singh Puri

New Delhi: State-owned oil companies have spent 4 percent of net profits on CSR activities in the last three years against the norm of 2 percent, Union Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.

Replying to a supplementary oral question in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour, Puri said that in the last three years, the CSR spending by the oil PSUs is little less than Rs 4,000 crore.

If an OMC (oil marketing company) is not able to meet its 2 percent obligation then it carries that forward, he explained.

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Puri also added that the shortfall in CSR spending can be carried forward for three years.

"Through your good offices that all OMCs have spent twice the amount CSR that they were required to (spend)", Puri told the House.

He also informed the House that there are some states where activities of oil marketing companies, exploration or others, are not encouraged, and in fact, they face impediments.

He also told the House that in one particular state, oil OMCs spend Rs 1,000 crore on exploration and production and yet the state government is depriving itself of the opportunity to get revenue from that.

He also stated that some states don't allow transportation pipelines to lay, so it is very difficult for any company to do any CSR spending there.

He added that invariably, the CSR spending is done where there is oil marketing or exploration and production facility.

He pointed out that West Bengal has seen an investment of Rs 1,000 crore by ONGC, 99 wells have been dug and yet we are not able to proceed further.

Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Jitan Ram Manjhi said it is true that PM Vishwakarma Scheme has not been rolled out in West Bengal.

The Minister told the House that two states of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are not interested in these schemes and don't implement those in their states.

"The proposal under the scheme is vetted at three stages--Panchayat, District and State levels. These committees are formed at state level. Applications come but registration is not done."

The minister explained to the House that now the ministry is considering an amendment to the scheme to find a mechanism other than these three-level committees for enrolling applicants under this programme.

Earlier the Chair withdrew an oral question on non-payment of dues by developers.

BJP MP Dr. Laxmikant Bajpayee had asked the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs to state the names of developers of housing projects in Noida and other cities of Uttar Pradesh who have not paid the dues to the Development Authority and the amount to be paid to the Authority.

Opposition leaders lodged their protest on the withdrawal of the question.

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