Mr. Krushna Gopal Mohapatra, Collector inaugurated Vedanta Bal Chetana Program at Biranarayanpur village in Rayagada district on June 12, 2009. Under the program 646 Anganwadi centre in five blocks of the district would be supported. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Vedanta Aluminium, District Administration of Rayagada and Vedanta Foundation on May 20, 2009. Mr. Umesh Mehta, Vice President (Mines); Mr. SK Pattnaik, AVP (Mines); Mr. S. Sarkar, Head (CSR) of Vedanta Aluminium were present on the occasion. The program is expected to benefit more than 30,000 children.
Children up to two years and six months shall be given micro-nutrient supplement, where as children between two years and six months and six years will be given additional nutritional supplement along with the food provided by the Government, under ICDS program. Specialized training shall be conducted for the Anganwadi workers under the project to improve the pre-school education for the children. In order to make the Anganwadi centers more attractive, educational toys will also be given to each centre. Vedanta Foundation will be responsible for implementation of this program in the district.
Presently, Vedanta is providing support to 400 Anganwadi centres in Kalahandi district, covering about 16000 children. Encouraged by the success of the program, the company extended the project to Rayagada district. The company has also been successfully operating 38 childcare centres with 1290 children in peripheral villages at Lanjigarh. The children are provided with free uniforms, nutritious mid-day meals, afternoon snacks at the childcare centres. ‘Bal Chetna Program’ is one of the Flagship program in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of Vedanta. The program is being implemented by Vedanta Foundation in partnership with local administration in Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Are anti-Vedanta Activists Loosing their Ground?
NGOs and groups, who are engaged in mobilizing the tribal community against Vedanta Aluminium for mining from Niyamgiri Hill, again got frustration on may 14, 2009. Their attempt to incite people, mainly Dongria Kondhs had not paid any result for the second time.
For last one month these NGO leaders were busy in organizing people against Vedanta. They had a plan to organize a rally and mass protest on May 11, 2009. However, about 50 people come in their support. The attendance of Dongria Kondh tribals was about 10. So the activists were forced to differ their proposed rally and mass protest to May 14, 2009. However, they were again disappointed by the tribal people, for the second time. Despite a rigorous effort by the NGOs, less number of people turned on the second date. So the proposed rally and mass protest ended in a meeting among few members of the NGOs in Jagannathpur village.
These NGO activists had also filed a PIL against mining from Niyamgiri in the Supreme Court. After thorough consideration, the Supreme Court approved for bauxite mining from Niyamgiri hill. However, these activists are defying the Supreme Court’s verdicts and mobilizing the tribal community with their propaganda.
On the other hand, the company has been successful in winning the confidence of tribal people through its humane approach and development interventions. The company has taken ups several development programs in the area - improving livelihood, education and health of the tribal community. The company also allayed fear among the tribals due to the misinformation by the NGOs. It explained about the positive impact of bauxite mining for the environment. “All these NGOs are outsiders. They try to use us in their own interest,” said one of the villagers in Kunakadu.
It seems that these NGOs are loosing their support base among the tribal community. The tribal community members also understand that sustained propaganda by NGOs to oppose mining of bauxite from Niyamgiri is delaying their own development. As per the verdict of the Supreme Court, 5% of the profit or Rs. 10 crore (which is higher) is to be invested for development of the local community.
For last one month these NGO leaders were busy in organizing people against Vedanta. They had a plan to organize a rally and mass protest on May 11, 2009. However, about 50 people come in their support. The attendance of Dongria Kondh tribals was about 10. So the activists were forced to differ their proposed rally and mass protest to May 14, 2009. However, they were again disappointed by the tribal people, for the second time. Despite a rigorous effort by the NGOs, less number of people turned on the second date. So the proposed rally and mass protest ended in a meeting among few members of the NGOs in Jagannathpur village.
These NGO activists had also filed a PIL against mining from Niyamgiri in the Supreme Court. After thorough consideration, the Supreme Court approved for bauxite mining from Niyamgiri hill. However, these activists are defying the Supreme Court’s verdicts and mobilizing the tribal community with their propaganda.
On the other hand, the company has been successful in winning the confidence of tribal people through its humane approach and development interventions. The company has taken ups several development programs in the area - improving livelihood, education and health of the tribal community. The company also allayed fear among the tribals due to the misinformation by the NGOs. It explained about the positive impact of bauxite mining for the environment. “All these NGOs are outsiders. They try to use us in their own interest,” said one of the villagers in Kunakadu.
It seems that these NGOs are loosing their support base among the tribal community. The tribal community members also understand that sustained propaganda by NGOs to oppose mining of bauxite from Niyamgiri is delaying their own development. As per the verdict of the Supreme Court, 5% of the profit or Rs. 10 crore (which is higher) is to be invested for development of the local community.
Vedanta pledges to make Lanjigarh Greener
Vedanta Aluminium Limited observed World Environment Day-2009 at its Alumina Refinery in Lanjigarh, Kalahandi (Orissa) on June 05, 2009. Renewing its commitment towards Environment, the company organized a series of programs to mark the world wide campaign for Nature.
The program started with massive plantation by Vedanta employees and their family members near the township. More than 2000 saplings of varied variety were planted. Similar Plantation activity was also taken up by inside the plant. A Workshop on ‘Green Lanjigarh’ was also organized on the day. Community members, senior management team members of VAL interacted discussed on making ‘Green Lanjigarh’.
Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer said, “Being present in an Eco-sensitive area it is the responsibility of Vedanta to improve ecological condition of the locality. Vedanta is deeply committed to follow world class practices in Environment Management and the principles of sustainable prosperity of the area.” Mr. Parameshwar Nayak, GM, District Industry Centre (DIC), Kalahandi; Mr. SG Pradhan, Environmental Scientist, Orissa State Pollution Control Board, Rayagada and; Mr. PN Singh, Manager, DIC, Kalahandi; Mr. G. Murugesh, Head (HR) and Dr. RC Rout, Head of HSE (Health, Safety & Environment) of VAL were present on the occasion.
Competitions on Essay, Slogan and Drawing was organised among Employees of VAL and its Associate Partner on the theme of World Environment Day. Winners of the Competition were awarded during the workshop.
The Company has adopted benchmarked technology with best operational practices and superior environment management practices in order to develop the Alumina Refinery as one of the world’s model Alumina refining complex. Recently, it has obtained ISO 14001 certification, which is an internationally accepted standard for effective Environmental Management System (EMS) to reduce environmental impact on water, air, land etc. The refinery has also been selected for Golden Peacock Environment Management Award – 2009, which will be presented at Global Convention on Climate Change, to be held this month.
World Environment Day was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1972, and represents one of the main channels through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances public attention and action. Every year the day is observed on June 05. The theme for this year is “Your Planet Needs You-Unite To Combat Climate Change”.
Ex-Bureaucrat, writer & academician at Vedanta Lanjigarh
Three members CSR advisory team of Vedanta Aluminium has visited Vedanta`s Lanjigarh refinery plant at Orissa today and expressed their satisfaction on the company’s initiative for sustainable development. CSR activities of Vedanta Aluminium Ltd, Lanjigarh is mainly concentrated on four areas i.e Health, Education, Livelihood and Infrastructure. The team has reviewed the overall progress of all the areas and shared their views to the local Management.
Mr. SB Mishra, former Chief Secretary of Orissa; Prof. O.N. Mohanty, Vice – Chanceller of Biju Pattnaik University of Technology and Padmashree Prativa Ray, famous novel Writer praised Vedanta’s initiatives for rehabilitation of displaced families and development initiatives in Lanjigarh. These three members, who are part of Vedanta CSR Advisory Board, paid a one-day visit to Lanjigarh today and went to different periphery area villages.
Led by Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of Vedanta Aluminium, Lanjigarh they visited the Vedanta Niyamgiri Nagar and had a meeting with the displaced families who are rehabilitated in this colony. They interacted with the women at the Tailoring centre and phenyl making unit in the Vedanta Niyamgiri Nagar. Appreciating the initiative to provide enhanced livelihood to the tribal women, Mr. SB Mishra said, “the innovative livelihood development project by Vedanta will definitely help in financial and social empowerment of women.” The visitors were very happy to see the health centre, child care centre and primary school in the rehabilitation colony, established by Vedanta.
They also visited the Strawberry field, which has been developed under Vedanta’s Shashya Shilpa Abhiyan program. Dr. Pratibha Ray praised the local farmers and Vedanta’s CSR Team members for their pioneering initiative. Strawberry in Lanjigarh is really exemplary, she said.
The advisory board members also had an over view of the alumina refinery by visiting key plant areas and central control room. Prof. Mohanty commended Vedanta for using latest technology and equipments in the plant. They also planted saplings inside the plant premises.
The three member team also interacted with the senior management team members. Dr. Mukesh Kumar presented an overview of the plant and various development initiatives taken up by the Company for local area development. He thanked the visitors for the visit.
CSR Advisory Board members applause Jharsuguda Plant of Vedanta
Vedanta Aluminium Ltd’s CSR Advisory Board members consisting of the eminent personalities of Orissa like Dr A.B.Ota, Director of SC&ST Research centre, Prof Sahadev Sahoo, Ex Chief Secretary Govt of Orissa and Ms Namita Panda, the Chairperson of Orissa State Women Commission paid an official visit to the Jharsuguda plant site on 30th April 2009.
Vedanta is going to create history as it has already set up a smelter capacity with a production capacity of 0.5 MTPA. It has also a long term objective to come out with a projected production of 1.75 MTPA by 2012 which is certainly to be the number one Aluminium producer in the country. Besides it has already generated 675 MW of captive power and has a target to produce 3615 MW power in total which will make it as the largest power generating company from a single location.
The purpose of the visit was to evaluate the overall progress of the Smelter & power plants of Vedanta Aluminium and subsequently the ongoing CSR initiative of the company .
During the visit the team stepped into the Jharsuguda Engineering School where the people from Project Affected villages (PAP) are being imparted training by VAL on different technical skills like plumbing, carpentry, house wiring and other skill enhancing professions. The members personally interacted with the people and applauded the efforts of the VAL in imparting the skill building as well as skill enhancing training to those people.
At the R&R colony at Jharsuguda, the members interacted with the residents by going to their houses personally. Ms Namita Nanda separately interacted with the women SHGs being promoted by VAL with a view to know about their style of living, their social status. She also personally interacted with the women employees of VAL.
The members also had a detailed session with the senior management team of Vedanta Aluminium wherein the members enquired about overall peripheral development of the Jharsaguda and the VAL management explained the team of their long term CSR & R&R strategies also explained how the Vedanta Aluminium is attributing to the society because of the huge investment at Jharsguda
Ms Namita Panda, Chairperson of Orissa State Women Commission inaugurated the Market Complex at the R&R colony. The members also interacted with the members of the Self Help Groups promoted by VAL and interacted with the staff of VAL during their visit. They also planted the saplings inside the plant premises.
Vedanta provides Sewing Machine to tribal women for leaf-plate making
Vedanta Aluminium Limited, Lanjigarh with an objective to enhance the livelihood of tribal families, provided 40 Sewing Machines to 20 Tribal Women groups for leaf plate making. The sewing machines were distributed by Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of VAL in a function, attended by about 300 Dongria Kondh Women on April 18, 2009 at Khemdipadar village (Trilochanpur GP).
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Mukesh Kumar said, “VAL is committed for overall development of the area and the impact of VAL’s initiatives aimed for bringing drastic changes shall be visible very soon in the areas of education, health, communication besides maintaining and improving cultural heritage”. Recently, the Aluminium Company has launched a project ‘Jeevika’ for women residing in eight villages on the slope of Niyamgiri. Under the project the company has trained 300 tribal women on making of leaf plate and cups. Out of the 300 women, 120 women are from Dongria Kondh, 90 from Kutia Kondh community. The rest 90 women are from Schedule Caste and other backward caste community. About 50 Joint Livelihood Groups (JLG), comprising 300 enterprising women have been formed under this project. “The Sewing Machines will help the tribal women in producing market standard leaf-plate and also increase their income. Other JLG members will also get their sewing machine very soon,” added Dr. Mukesh Kumar. The group members were taken on exposure trip to visit the enterprises in Bhawanipatna and Bolangir to gain practical knowledge about leaf plate making.
The stitched leaf-plate making business is expected to enhance the income of each JLG member by at least Rs. 100 per month as Sal or Siali leaves are available in the locality abundantly. Vedanta will also provide marketing support for the leaf-plate. The tribal women also see a new future in their newly found income opportunities. “After seeing leaf-plate making and its business in other places, our group members are highly motivated. With sewing machine we can earn more than Rs. 100 a day,” says Katli Majhi a Dongria Kondh women from Phuldumer Village.
This is a pilot initiative by the Company and after seeing response from the tribal women. The company is all set to expand the livelihood intervention to other villages, as well.
Providing improved livelihood to the periphery area villagers has been the focus of the company. It has contributed in better income and living of several tribal people in Lanjigarh through various livelihood initiatives such as Shashya Shilpa Abhiyan (Vegetable cultivation program); Strawberry Cultivation; Phenyl making business by women, rice processing unit by SHG members and fishery.
Source: OrissaDiary.com
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Mukesh Kumar said, “VAL is committed for overall development of the area and the impact of VAL’s initiatives aimed for bringing drastic changes shall be visible very soon in the areas of education, health, communication besides maintaining and improving cultural heritage”. Recently, the Aluminium Company has launched a project ‘Jeevika’ for women residing in eight villages on the slope of Niyamgiri. Under the project the company has trained 300 tribal women on making of leaf plate and cups. Out of the 300 women, 120 women are from Dongria Kondh, 90 from Kutia Kondh community. The rest 90 women are from Schedule Caste and other backward caste community. About 50 Joint Livelihood Groups (JLG), comprising 300 enterprising women have been formed under this project. “The Sewing Machines will help the tribal women in producing market standard leaf-plate and also increase their income. Other JLG members will also get their sewing machine very soon,” added Dr. Mukesh Kumar. The group members were taken on exposure trip to visit the enterprises in Bhawanipatna and Bolangir to gain practical knowledge about leaf plate making.
The stitched leaf-plate making business is expected to enhance the income of each JLG member by at least Rs. 100 per month as Sal or Siali leaves are available in the locality abundantly. Vedanta will also provide marketing support for the leaf-plate. The tribal women also see a new future in their newly found income opportunities. “After seeing leaf-plate making and its business in other places, our group members are highly motivated. With sewing machine we can earn more than Rs. 100 a day,” says Katli Majhi a Dongria Kondh women from Phuldumer Village.
This is a pilot initiative by the Company and after seeing response from the tribal women. The company is all set to expand the livelihood intervention to other villages, as well.
Providing improved livelihood to the periphery area villagers has been the focus of the company. It has contributed in better income and living of several tribal people in Lanjigarh through various livelihood initiatives such as Shashya Shilpa Abhiyan (Vegetable cultivation program); Strawberry Cultivation; Phenyl making business by women, rice processing unit by SHG members and fishery.
Source: OrissaDiary.com
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