A new trend is emerging. Corporate India is seeking support of educational and social oraganisations to solve some of their problems which they earlier used to solve themselves. Not that they are not capable of solving them, but they want to concentrate on their "core competence areas" and leaving others to those who have the required expertise.So, the management of Calcutta-based Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) looked for such services from outside. HPL, promoted by West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, Chatterjee Petrochem (Mauritus) and the Tatas, has asked the Ramakrishna Mission, one of the premier educational and social organisation of the country, to submit a proposal for a skills development programme for the people there. It has also joined hands with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, one of the foremost educational institutions of the country, for starting a school there for the children of their employees.
HPL is faced with a typical problem which crops up during and after the completion of aproject. Its Rs 5,170-crore Haldia Petrochemical Project located at Haldia port town in West Bengal is nearing completion and is expected to start commercial production by the last quarter of the current year. And the local CITU trade union led by the major partner of the ruling Left Front started agitation demanding jobs for the locals and the project-affected people. The state government and its acting chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharyya reacted promptly to bring an end to such agitation. Moreover, Lakshman Sett, a CPI(M) MP and the leader of the agitators, was subsequently removed from the post of Haldia Development Authority chairman.
"Haldia Petrochem would mostly require highly skilled manpower. There is almost no scope for employment of unskilled men," said HPL's chairman Tapan Mitra.
"Therefore, we are not in a position to provide jobs for all land losers and for the locals. But that does not mean that we want to wash our hands off from their problems. Not at all. Instead, we have to highlightthe huge scope for income generation that will be created by the project, downstream projects and associated sectors," he said. "They will create new jobs, new trades. To grab the opportunities thus created, they need to learn some old as well as some new trades. And we are trying to create such opportunities with the help of Ramakrishna Mission's Loksiksha Parisad," Mitra said.
Why Ramakrishna Mission? "They have vast experience in this particular field. They are also closely associated with social development projects in the area under the aegis of its Loksiksha Parisad," Mitra explained.
The Ramakrishna Mission will collect data on demographics and socio-economic status of 2,000 families among which there are 950 original land losing families. Other families live on the periphery of the project today.
After the demographic study has been completed, the Mission will finalise a programme based on an evaluation of the core target group. HPL hopes to facilitate the implementation of various socially andeconomically relevant programmes at Haldia based on Ramakrishna Mission's recommendations.
These programmes will cover:
Analysis of skills development requirements, current educational levels and target group aptitudes;
Potential of new skills to facilitate employment, generate income through self-employment and encourage enterprise development;
Societal attitudes towards new occupations which are different from traditional occupations such as farming and fishing;
Preferences for specific new skills;
Additional income generation possibilities for women;
Customised enterprise development possibilities within the target group, with an assessment of funding requirements along with technical assistance and training needs.Lok Shiksha Parishad conducts various courses as a part of its routine curriculum. They include plumbing, welding, tailoring, electrical fittings and repairs, poultry farming, dairy farming, catering, janitorial services, horticulture,floriculture, baking and confectionery, etc. These courses may be suitable for Haldia as well.
In addition to the skills development programme, HPL is also considering the possibility of starting a Haldia Foundation in partnership with some of the other companies which are now involved in the industrialisation process in the area, or have been already there for some years. The foundation may look into establishing a Trust Fund which will assess needs and promote the disbursement of development aid for healthcare, nutrition, education, civic amenities and recreational facilities.
The school project envisages an investment of around Rs 3.5 crore for a modern, English medium, co-educational school affiliated to CBSC from preparatory 1 to class 12. In the initial stages, the student capacity will be 1,400. Further value-additions are planned in the form of special centres for fine arts, languages, mass communication, computer education and technical training programmes. The school has already made a modestbeginning in a temporary accommodation provided by the Haldia Development Authority.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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