Panaji, Jan 6 (IANS): In a bid to tap corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding, the Goa government will soon set up a CSR authority under the Finance Department, which will now allow private companies to route CSR funds for projects other than those linked to disaster management, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday.

Sawant also said that the authority would operate a company account, where the CSR funds could be deposited and was modelled on the lines of similar accounts started by the state governments of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

"Many people are approaching us to offer the CSR funds. But we couldn't give them CSR certificates, simply because we could not accept the funds," Sawant said.

"Now, we are forming a government company to do various activities under the CSR, so that private companies can invest under the CSR scheme in our company. Therefore, a CSR authority under the Finance Department is being registered," the CM said.

"What happened is that if companies wanted to donate money to the Goa government, they could only do so under disaster relief funds and we would have to then spend it for disaster management only," he added.