The Hindu Business Line : Cementing ties with displaced people

EVEN as the debate continues on to what extent a corporate house should go to carry out its social responsibility, Ambuja Cement Eastern Ltd, a subsidiary of Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, has silently turned a hostile crowd of land-losers into one of the company's cheering group in three years.

Ambuja Cement Eastern, earlier known as Modi Cement Ltd, was acquired by the Ambujas from the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction in December 1997. The company, which has just one unit at Bhatapara in Chhattisgarh, launched a one-million-tonne grinding unit at Sankrail in West Bengal in January 2000.

Though the initiative received support from the Leftists and their opponents, there was local resistance. Villagers staged black flag demonstrations during the foundation stone laying ceremony, which was attended by two heavyweights of Bengal politics — Mr Jyoti Basu, former Chief Minister, and Ms Mamata Banerjee, former Union Railway Minister.

According to Mr Harsh Neotia, MD of Ambuja Cement Eastern, the villagers were upset as more than 300 families were affected one way or the other. However, offering them a job was not an option as modern cement plants hardly employ 120-130 people. "So the challenge was to create alternative employment for these people. Moreover, we were the new residents of the locality and, hence, the onus was on us to build a relationship with the existing inhabitants," said Mr Neotia.

As a first step, the Ambujas ensured that there was no third-man between them and the villagers who had lost their land. Then they made all the land-losers open back accounts and paid money for the land only through crossed cheques. The payment made by the Ambujas ranged between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 20 lakh.

"We ensured that the money went only to the land owner and that it was not lost in reckless drinking and gambling. The family members were also apprised of their monetary position," he added.

The lumpsum money was available with the land-loser but still they had no avenue for a regular income. So the company recruited some of the land-losers for unskilled jobs. It helped others to buy either a rickshaw or an automobile van or start a fishery business.

Villagers were trained and new skills were imparted to them. The Ambujas did this job along with the Don Bosco Self-Employment Research Institute.

However, for this activity, Ambuja Cement did not restrict it only to land-losers. Instead, they covered 16 panchayats of the region, which means a total population of 2.5 lakh.

Kabita Pal was one such woman in that region, with a huge family but a paltry income source. She undertook a jute fabrication course and now plans to start her own retailing outlet. Other similar vocational courses are being offered and the Ambujas are eager to help the trained people market their products.

Mr Nityanand Bhuniya, a former MLA of the region, was initially suspicious of the project. "But my opinion changed when the company went out of the way to help a widow acquire land," he said.

Ambuja Cement Eastern also helped the villagers in creating self-help groups (SHGs). The members of the SHGs were taught several income-generation schemes.

Investment of the money earned by the villagers after disposing their lands was another important issue. According to Mr Neotia, villagers in similar situations lose the funds by investing in some shady companies.

"So we organised finance melas and helped the villagers invest their money in Government securities and other safe ventures," he said.

In addition, the company donated 300 tonnes of cement to reconstruct a nearby high school, books to a neighbouring library, rebuilt the Sankrail railway station, organised weekly healthy camps, HIV awareness and eye camps, constructed a changing room on the banks of the Hooghly and burning ghat.

"At any time, six social projects are going on this region," he said.

The company also took full advantage of the government's Aanganwadi project and through it touched on the lives of mothers and children in that region. It is distributing pencils, chalks and slates, black boards and other materials for pre-primary education.

The company conducts all these activities through the Ambuja Cement Foundation.

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