Clean Ganga fund receives Rs 66-cr donation this year

Clean Ganga Fund (CGF), an initiative launched by the NDA government as part of its ambitious mission to cleanse the river, has received donations to the tune of over Rs 66 crore till August this year.

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for setting up of CGF in September 2014, with the aim to utilising the collection for various activities under the ‘Namami Gange’ programme for cleaning the river.

According to sources, CGF has received around Rs 66.20 crore till August 14 this year. Of the amount, Public Sector Undertakings alone have contributed about Rs 13 crore between April and mid-August 2015. Private companies have contributed over Rs 45 lakh in the current <g data-gr-id="21">fiscal,</g> while individual contributions stood at Rs 15 lakh during the period. Individual contributions, sources said, range from Rs 55 to Rs 5 lakh.

NRIs, too, have shown interest to make the river pollution-free. NRIs from Australia, Singapore and the USA have contributed for the purpose. They have donated Rs 6.6 lakh between September 2014 and March this year and around Rs 2.5 lakh from April to <g data-gr-id="23">August,</g> 2015. The government received contributions of over Rs 50 crore in the period between <g data-gr-id="22">establishment</g> of GCF and the end of the last fiscal. “People from all walks of life are donating. The trend of donations to CGF shows that it is picking up,” said the source.

The Centre had announced 100% tax exemption in CSR activities for donations to Clean Ganga Fund.