Oberoi Realty fails to spend 67% for FY 2020-21; Transfers over Rs 6 Cr to unspent CSR account

New Delhi, 4 January 2022: Oberoi Realty, a real estate development company, has failed miserably in fulfilling its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the financial year 2020-21. The company’s CSR obligation was calculated at Rs 9.22 crore but it could spend only Rs 3.05 crore. Around one third of its CSR amount was left unspent.

The total amount transferred to the Unspent CSR Account on April 30, 2021 was 6.17 crore. The average net profit of the company as per section 135(5) was Rs 460. 94 crore.

CSR amount spent against ongoing projects for the financial year

CSR amount spent against other than ongoing projects for the financial year was 0.11 crore. This amount was spent towards improvements at hospital facility in Mumbai. Therefore, the total CSR money spent towards the company’s CSR activities was calculated as Rs 3.05 crore, which was merely 33 percent of its mandatory CSR obligation.

The annual report of the company stated, “Our CSR activities are governed by our in-house teams for better and stricter control over the complete process. It also includes partnering with external agencies as and when required for some of our key interventions.”

Oberoi Realty’s Focus areas for CSR activities

• Slum re-development, housing for economically weaker sections.
• Promotion of education, including by way of conservation, renovation of school buildings and classrooms.
• Efforts towards eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, fulfilment of nutritional requirements of the needy, promoting health care and sanitation, including by way of creation of aids and facilities for differently abled persons.
• Efforts towards environment sustainability, including by way of undertaking clean and renewable energy project, conservation of natural resources, protection of flora and fauna, maintenance of ecological balance, including by way of adoption of green belts, gardens etc.
• Contribution to Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or such other funds as may be recognized under Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013.

Why Oberoi Realty failed to spend two per cent of the average net profit?

The company has undertaken the CSR project awarded by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) of landscaping, beautification, and maintenance of certain stretches of central medians, and areas below certain flyovers in Mumbai for a period of five years. Substantial amounts were envisaged to be spent on this project, but owing to the COVID pandemic, the desired physical progress could not have been achieved. As the said project is to be completed over multiple years, the amounts to be spent in the coming years should substantially cover the CSR expenditure in the coming years.

Oberoi Realty’s CSR Committee

Vikas Oberoi is the Chairman of the CSR committee at Oberoi Realty. Other key members include Bindu Oberoi and Venkatesh Mysore.