Naveen directs industries to spend 5 percent profit on development

Bhubaneswar, Dec10 (UNI) Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today directed all the industries under Public and Private sectors in the schedule areas to spend five per cent of their profit on the peripheral development of the area.

Mr Patnaik, who chaired a high level meeting here, asked the state public sector Orissa Mining Corporation(OMC) and the Orissa Hydro Power Corporation(OHPC) to take the initiative in this regard.

The Chief Minister also requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to instruct all the central sector undertakings in Orissa to spend five per cent of their profit for the development of the area.

The Orissa cabinet in 2003 had adopted a resolution making it mandatory for the public sector as well as private sector undertakings in the schedule areas to utilise 5 per cent of their profit for the area's overall development.

Recently the Apex court in the Vedant case had approved the cabinet's decision and asked the industries in the scheduled areas to act accordingly.

Official sources said the decision of the government would help make available hundreds of crores of rupees from various industries, both private and public sectors, to undertake social and developmental activities.

UNI