Implementing Work from Home? Convert vacant office building into makeshift COVID facilities: MCA to corporates

New Delhi, April 29, 2021: As record hitting COVID cases overwhelm the current health infrastructure in the country, the Centre has asked Corporates,who have implemented work- from-home policy, to convert their vacant office buildings into temporary COVID care facilities.

"In view of the ongoing work from home mode of working, you may have some vacant buildings at your disposal. You may like to consider converting these vacant office buildings to temporary COVID Care facilities with either isolation beds or a combination of isolation and oxygen beds to cater to rapidly increasing COVID caseload in many parts of the country, come of which may lie in your vicinity," the MCA appealed to the corporates.

Setting up makeshift CVOID facilities an eligible CSR activity

The government has already notified that "spending of CSR funds for setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID Care facilities is an eligible CSR activity."

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in its notification clarified that such activities are covered under "Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013 relating to promotion of health care, including preventive health care and disaster management respectively."

The center asked the corporates to create such facilities in consultation with State Governments.

Citing the example of DRDO and CISR which have set up temporary COVID Care facilities, the government asked the companies to spend their CSR funds generously for COVID related facilities.

Earlier, the government had allowed Corporates to use their CSR funds for conducting awareness and outreach programmes on COVID vaccination.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been issuing CSR related directives and clarifications on different COVID related activities since March 2020.

A few weeks back the ministry had also allowed COVID vaccination programme for community and supply chain workers as CSR activity.

Last year, after the onset of COVID, the MCA had permitted companies to spend their CSR fund on research and development for finding vaccines, medicines and medical equipment meant to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The ministry made it possible for the companies through an amendment to the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility) Rules, 2014. The companies are allowed to claim CSR benefits for such activities until the 2022-2023 financial year.

Government has also set up a special fund to drive relief operations for COVID -like crisis. PM-CARES or the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund were set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March to "deal with emergency or distress situations like the Coronavirus pandemic".