The Hindu Business Line : Tatas reach out...

Working with quiet efficiency, the Tata Relief Committee has contributed immensely to the ongoing relief efforts in the tsunami affected regions of Tamil Nadu.

The quiet but relentless work done by self-help groups (SHGs) in Tamil Nadu has been recognised by none less than the house of Tatas. The Tata Relief Committee (TRC), which has been silently carrying out commendable relief and rehabilitation work in the tsunami-devastated regions of Tamil Nadu, cast a vote of confidence for the SHGs by handing over the mechanised fishing boats they are building to these groups.

As P.K. Mohankumar, Chief Operating Officer, Oriental Hotels, and General Manager of Taj Coromandel, who is the chief co-ordinator of the TRC, Chennai, puts it, "We found that the SHGs were not only very active in this region but are also sincere and committed. To give the boats to individuals would have limited the benefit, so we decided to gift them to the SHGs through the panchayats. This is a new role for them."

Nearly 24 fibre-glass boats — with overboard engines, nets etc — have been handed over, with plans to give 240 boats in all, each costing Rs 1.8 lakh, to the SHGs in five districts of Tamil Nadu. The SHGs will rent the boats to groups of 4 or 5 fishermen at Rs 300 a day for each boat. With no loan component or repayment involved, this will come as a boon to the women's groups, some of which have been badly affected by the tsunami. "On March 4, when the first boat set out to sea from Kovalam, we joined the group," he adds.

J. Ganesh, Joint Secretary of the TRC, says a boatyard has been set up at Kovalam, where the boats are fabricated according to the fishermen's specifications, with an additional Rs 9,000 being spent on safety standards.

With a corpus of Rs 20 crore created from a day's salary contributed by 2.35 lakh Tata group employees, including the directors and CEOs, along with generous contributions from all group companies, the Chennai TRC swung into action within 24 hours of the havoc wrecked by the tsunami on December 26, 2004. It helped 60 schoolchildren from Kolkata stranded at the Port Blair airport return home. "On that day our group chairman, Ratan Tata, was not in Mumbai, but he rushed back, convened a meeting with the heads of all Tata companies and formed a steering committee for tsunami relief work. Tamil Nadu was identified as the worst affected State where the TRC would work. The Tatas vowed that we would be the biggest contributor from the corporate world for tsunami relief work, and the resources of the entire Tata group were put at the disposal of the Chennai TRC," says Mohankumar.

On December 29, he and Ganesh visited Kanyakumari; "we've been in disaster management for 15-20 years and know about relief and intervention. We have devised a standard family kit for disasters, which has 22 items including utensils, personal wear, mattresses, bed sheets and blankets," says Ganesh.

Adds Mohankumar, "At our first meeting, the power of the Tata group hit us... everything was available within the group; Tata Motors organised transportation of relief material, the Taj group did the catering at the base camp where, every day 100 volunteers carried out relief work, TCS took care of community training programmes during the rehabilitation phase, the desalination plant was put up at Nagapattinam by Tata Hydel, and so on."

Within 36 hours, relief material had reached Nagapattinam and the TRC interacted with the Collectors in five districts to identify the worst affected areas. "The Collectors were happy we were so well-organised and equipped with all the resources. We had the volunteers, the transport, the drugs, the kits and the money. Nagapattinam Collector Dr J. Radhakrishan allotted us Akkaraipettai, the worst affected area," he says, adding that he'll never forget the large number of bodies on the scene. "It was just bodies and bodies and more bodies. There was complete destruction; the fury of the sea in just 10 minutes was unbelievable."

The emergency relief measures continued for 30 days. Next came the restoration of livelihood and long-term rehabilitation measures like construction of houses. Meanwhile, a desalination plant installed at Nagapattinam, with a capacity to provide 25,000 litres of potable water per day, turned out to be so critical, "the government intervened saying this is the most precious commodity and we should ration water supply to 15,000 families in the relief centres. The desalination plant, which will function for another year, is being viewed as the biggest benefit," he adds.

Ganesh says the plant cost Rs 25 lakh and three more would be put up; a second plant at Nagapattinam, and one plant each in Tirunelvelli and Kanyakumari, as requested by the Tamil Nadu government.

TRC has tied up with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation to set up rural knowledge centres in the tsunami affected areas, on the lines of the MSS centre in Pondicherry. The plan is to have one community centre, 5,000 sq ft in size, which will serve as a hub, complete with a marriage hall, library, training centre etc and with eight nodes. The first hub will be in Nagapattinam, "which is our focus area where we are looking at creating a 21st-century model village with 1,000 dwelling units. Mr Ratan Tata's core vision is to convert this tragedy into an opportunity to improve people's lives," says Mohankumar. Eight such centres will be set up at a cost of Rs 1.2 crore, excluding the infrastructure, which is part of the rehabilitation programme.

Next on TRC's agenda, which has already spent Rs 5 crore out of the Rs 20-crore corpus, which will be increased if necessary, is the construction of 1,000 houses, each with 350 sq ft built-up area. "We wanted to spend Rs 2 lakh on each house, but the TN government asked us to scale it down to Rs 1-1.5 lakh to maintain uniformity. Our architects studied the villagers' lifestyle, consulted them on the design for the houses, which will leave room for expansion in the future; the foundation will allow addition of an extra floor or two."

Ganesh says the TRC is keen to keep in mind the sensitivities and needs of the tsunami victims, and "to give them aid with dignity. Students from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and other social work institutions were mobilised to interview the families on their needs. They covered every village along the 600-km coastline and identified the requirements of the people."

Mohankumar says villagers have been assured that the Tatas are with them for the long haul. "We are committed to completing all the long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes, hand over the dwelling units, the community centre and the entire village to the people before walking away. With the MSS Foundation we have a programme for four years. The model 21st-century village is being created according to the needs of the people in Kovalam, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Kanyakumari."

The houses will be located on government-allotted land. Says Ganesh, "This is the only area where the government is very keen to play a role; it has told us very clearly that it will look after the issues of land acquisition and allotment and given us guidelines on construction norms. Even though the houses might be small, the TRC has assured villagers we will use first-class construction material."

Change in livelihood

With many fishermen expressing the desire to change their livelihood, TCS plans to introduce adult literacy and alternative employment generation programmes, in addition to the MSS rural management centre. "These two programmes, we hope, will transform the life of the villagers," he says.

On the possibility of the TRC accepting donations from outside, Mohankumar says, "Because of the enormous equity the Tata brand enjoys, many global organisations and corporations have said that they'd like to donate money for long-term tsunami rehabilitation work through the Tatas, and we are considering the offer. We've conveyed to them that right now we have mobilised our own funds."

Adds Ganesh, "But we do have certain partners like Timken, which has donated money to the TRC."

What is most heartening in the TRC effort is the commitment to long-term work. For, how many relief agencies can assure the victims: "Don't worry, we will not leave your village till the last person has been helped and rehabilitated."

Small wonder then that one of the Tata relief volunteers was told by the villagers, "We'll build temples for you. And in the next election, vote for you!"

Response can be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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