Gurugram, Nov 21 (IANS) Under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme, Powergrid will revive crematoriums and graveyards in 658 villages of four districts of Haryana, Karnal, Panipat, Rewari and Kurukshetra, with an amount of about Rs 50 crore.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Powergrid and the Development and Panchayat Department in the presence of the Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini in Gurugram on Thursday.

The Chief Minister said that under the CSR scheme, corporate companies are making incomparable contributions in the field of rural development, which is a commendable step towards social upliftment.

Commerce, Industry, Forest and Environment Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Cooperation and Tourism Minister Dr Arvind Sharma were also present on this occasion.

Chairman of Powergrid R.K. Tyagi said that an amount of Rs 49.94 crore will be spent for the revival of these crematoriums and graveyards. Under the MoU, boundary walls and paved roads will be constructed for all these 658 crematoriums and graveyards.

Dr Jai Kishan Abir said that the population of these 658 villages is around 40 lakh. Rs 10.97 crore will be spent on the reconstruction of crematoriums and graveyards in 198 villages of Karnal district, Rs 18.46 crore will be spent on 237 villages in Kurukshetra district, Rs 5.15 core in 106 villages of Panipat and Rs 15.37 crore in 117 villages of Rewari district.

In Haryana, a CSR Board was constituted in November 2018, which was made Haryana State CSR Trust under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister in March 2021.

"Development works worth Rs 750 crore have been done in the state under the Social Participation Program from November 2018 to March 2024. In the current financial year, development works worth Rs 350 crore will be done under this scheme," CM Saini said.