Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development S.P. Velumani on Saturday urged the industry to support through Corporation Social Responsibility (CSR) activities the housing projects for economically weaker sections in Tamil Nadu .
Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) regional CSR experience and impact summit titled “Reviving Innovative and Successful Models for Sustainable Tomorrow”, Mr. Velumani said the government provided ₹2.1 lakh for a house.
However, the beneficiaries had to pay another ₹1.25 lakh. Owning a house was a dream for many and the houses were for the economically weaker section.
The industry could extend support for the additional amount required for each house.
The Minister said he had appealed to the Union Government to include Coimbatore in the planned industrial corridor from Bengaluru to Chennai, and in the list of 10 World Class cities, and also reduce GST for job working engineering units.
Airport expansion
On the expansion of the Coimbatore International Airport, he said the main challenge was acquiring land. As a first step, ₹75 crore had been disbursed.
The acquisition process would continue despite the challenges.
Farhad Forbes, co-chairman of Forbes Marshall, said the affirmative actions taken by members of CII were mainly in the areas of employment, entrepreneurship development, employability and capacity building, and education.
According to Jairam Varadaraj, Managing Director of Elgi Equipments, the social aspect of CSR projects is more pervasive. It is not just addressing the needs of the challenged sections of society. Companies and individuals should be able to make a social impact through the CSR initiatives.
B.K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, president of Nallamuthu Gounder Mahalingam College, said development and distribution should go together. There should be a spirit of sharing and caring at all levels.
H. Jayaram, co-chairman of CII Southern Region sub-committee on sustainability, said the country needed growth and sustainability. “We need to address the issue of inequality for the country to grow.”
Demand
According to Ravi Sam, chairman of the CSR, Affirmative Action, Sustainability sub-committee of CII - SR, “It is important to understand how we substantially relate the global goals to our local context and bring corporate citizenship into that paradigm.” He reiterated the demand for Government support to set up a museum in Coimbatore. The Hindu was a media partner to the one-day event.
