Funds under CSR spent outside project area

NEW TEHRI: The company, which built the Tehri dam in Uttarakhand spent funds allocated to it under its corporate social responsibility outside the project area, an RTI query has revealed.

The matter came to light when Tehri District Magistrate and rehabilitation director Ranjit Kumar Sinha sought information on the issue from the company, THDC India Ltd, under the RTI Act.

"In response to our RTI query, we received spending details of Rs 9.95 crore from the company's central information officer N K Prasad and were startled to find that part of the CSR funds were spent by the company not only in Chamoli district where the dam is located, but also outside it in districts like Jhansi, Rai Bareli and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh," Sinha said.

This is shocking, given the fact that people displaced by Tehri dam and rehabilitated in places like Haridwar, Dehradun and Rishikesh are still facing problems, he added.