Bike rally to increase awareness on Multiple Sclerosis

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February 8, 2019

Omega Healthcare, along with Multiple Sclerosis Society of India, observed the India Multiple Sclerosis Day by flagging-off a bike rally in Bangalore to generate awareness about the degenerative disease.

Similar biker rallies were held across the country by MSSI in Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune too.

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic neurodegenerative condition that affects different parts of the central nervous system. It is often referred to as the mysterious crippler of the young adult as it generally strikes its victims between the age group of 20 and 40 years. It is estimated that the total no. of MS patients India is close to 180,000 people.

The rally started at 8 am from the office of Omega Healthcare on NAL Wind Tunnel Road and concluded at NIMHANS Hospital, Hosur Road in Bangalore. Flagging off the rally were V. S. Basvaraju, State Disability Commissioner, Government of Karnataka and Purushothama Reddy, Senior Vice-President-Finance & Head of CSR, Omega Healthcare Management Services Pvt. Ltd.

V S Basavaraju, the State Disability Commissioner said, “The government has always been supportive of causes to help increase awareness of many diseases and the treatment. It is important for us to support people who have certain disabilities and ensure they feel more inclusive.”

Punkaj Gupta, Hon. Secretary MSSI-Bangalore Chapter said, “Surprisingly, public knowledge about MS is very low, though it is prevalent across all sections of the society. There is little information out there about MS and it tends to drive patients underground. We need more partners like Omega Healthcare to help us support the cause.”

MakeMyTrip’s GoGreen Drive Helps Plant One Million Trees

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The CSR Journal

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February 8, 2019

MakeMyTrip has successfully supported plantation of One Million Trees through MakeMyTrip Foundation in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand and Udaipur districts as part of its efforts to support responsible travel. The drive has been carried out in partnership with Seva Mandir, a leading non-profit organization that works with local communities on development projects, especially focusing on sustainability.

The company’s GoGreen initiative is a 360-degree drive that aims to promote responsible travel and environmental sustainability by involving all stakeholders including customers, employees and local communities. The tree plantation effort covering 2350 hectares of land has been carried out with the contribution made by customers to the foundation each time they have booked their flights and hotels on the platform.

Speaking about the company’s green milestone, Minister of State for Tourism, Mr K.J. Alphons said, “The efforts made by MakeMyTrip Foundation and Sewa Mandir are commendable and am happy that they have reached the significant milestone of planting one million trees. If we are to make tourism sustainable in India, all stakeholders including Industry leaders need to step up and co-create innovative solutions to make Responsible Tourism the norm and not an exception.”

Commenting on the initiative, Deep Kalra, Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip said, “As India’s one-stop-travel-shop, we have always felt it’s incumbent on us to promote responsible travel. While travel opens new horizons and is a necessity more than a choice for a new India on the move, we are also conscious of the impact it makes to our environment. To help offset the carbon footprint of travellers, we joined hands with our customers to help make the difference – this initiative is a unique example of corporate-community partnership for social impact. We are immensely proud of the results and are hopeful that this is just the start of a collaborative impact that we can make together by making a thoughtful contribution”

A public charitable trust, the MakeMyTrip Foundation has been set up to actively and passionately contribute towards issues of broader social impact, especially focusing on promoting responsible travel. As part of its charter, the Foundation is investing resources and creating awareness to improve ecological balance, offset carbon footprint and support restoration of Indian heritage. It supports these goals through soft skills training of local travel hosts & travel guides, training of front-line staff at tourism hot spots and its plastic waste management project that it has piloted in three islands of Andamans and Gurgaon.

MakeMyTrip Foundation has also recently signed an MoU with Sonam Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL) in Ladakh for a first of its kind carbon offsetting project.

CSR in 2019: 5 Trends That Will Redefine The CSR Sector This Year

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The CSR Journal

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February 8, 2019

While there may not a fixed definition to corporate social responsibility (CSR), it is fundamentally a belief that companies have certain social, environmental, and ethical responsibilities they need to address. Businesses must use their resources to solve real-world problems which impact not only their immediate environment and stakeholders but society in general. Among these stakeholders is the community in which the business operates. And when the government is unable to serve the needs of a community, and if it is not financially viable for the private sector to do so, social sector organizations step in to protect the interests of the community.

It cannot be denied that the social sector has played a crucial role in the implementation of major legislative changes, and in negotiating with the government on policy-driven interventions over the past several decades. However, the social sector’s potential to effect large-scale change or spearhead major development programs is often undercut by its inability to raise funds and due to a lack of organizational capabilities. This often has a direct, and less than the favourable impact on the overall impact of CSR programs and initiatives undertaken by corporates.

Although, the tide seems to be turning as the social sector is starting to undergo significant changes, with technology and corporate-like management practices being some of the key elements of this transformation. The following, then, are some of the key trends that the CSR space is expected to witness in 2019.

1. NGOs Will Adapt and Get Better at Working With the New Type of Funders – Corporates

NGOs and the social sector have traditionally collaborated with either government agencies or with international aid agencies. In recent years, the social sector has found new collaborators in multinational corporations and large Indian companies. These companies are partnering with non-government organizations (NGOs) to plan and execute their social responsibility initiatives in some of the most critical areas such as education, sanitation, healthcare, water sustainability, etc. Such collaborations also present the social sector with significant opportunities, as working alongside the corporate sector will not only provide them access to higher funds, but also the technological and intellectual resources they require.

Previously NGOs largely focused on the application process for the government or international aid. Alternatively, they raised funds from individuals such as wealthy donors and philanthropists by appealing to their softer, humane side. But now that corporate support, both financial and organizational, has become more critical for the social sector, NGOs need to make a strong business case for funding. Their proposals, therefore, will need to focus more on aspects like KPIs, impact, deliverables, adhering to timelines, along with doing diligent reporting. This is a new skill they need to learn. While some have already adapted to this changing landscape, the majority of the social sector will have to adapt to it as swiftly as possible to ensure that they translate their vision into reality, measurable outcomes.

2. Corporates Will Start Thinking of CSR as Another Pillar of Their Corporate Strategy, Instead of as Philanthropy

Sustainability issues and social responsibility have become a key consideration for business leaders and decision-makers in the corporate sector, in the last couple of years. Companies, therefore, are increasingly looking to integrate CSR as a mainstay for their managerial processes, decision-making, and overall strategy, with an aim to position themselves not just as philanthropic, but as socially responsible organizations. CSR is not a tax, but rather an investment towards building sustainable societies and businesses, and has significant positive impacts on the business. This is a fact CXOs are now beginning to realize; to quote the Strategy Head of a finance corporation, “We don’t need a CSR strategy, we need a corporate strategy that incorporates CSR.” Even the government’s stance is in tandem with the corporate sector’s position on CSR, with the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, PP Chaudhary having recently said that CSR activities should be part of the long-term strategy of companies and should not be treated as ad hoc activities.

3. More Companies Will Comply and Engage in Long-term Partnerships With NGOs

To navigate the complex landscape of the social sector, companies need to build a body of knowledge pertaining to the development area they are operating in. NGOs operate in various sub-sectors such as environment, education, health, gender equality, etc. Each of these sub-sectors is different from the other and requires a specialist approach to deal with their unique set of challenges and issues. Moreover, since measurable impact takes longer to achieve, corporates will seek to engage in longer-term collaborations with NGOs to leverage their knowledge for greater on-ground impact.

4. For-Profit Social Ventures Will Emerge as a Major Force of Social Good

A number of for-profit ventures have emerged in the recent past that are tackling specific social issues through innovative products and services. For instance, there are women entrepreneurs manufacturing low-cost sanitary napkins and making them accessible to women in semi-rural and urban areas. Or a for-profit model to market a product that reduces carbon emissions from diesel generators. For-profit ventures are bringing better managerial and technical skills which social sectors need in order to address major issues. Moreover, these for-profit ventures are also aiding the corporate side, along with NGOs, to help them build and enforce effective organizational and governance models.

5. Technology and Innovation Will Play a Major Role in Addressing Structural Issues in the Social Sector

For the social sector, adopting technology can facilitate a much-needed departure from the traditional mode of operating, to a more agile, transparent, and efficient way. Technology can address the structural issues within the social sector through solutions that streamline the way organizations interact, create greater transparency, digitize and automate workflows, etc. At the same time, technology can enable corporates to collate, access, and analyze data, which can help decision-makers assess the consistency between the ethical values companies endorse and their actions supporting the same.

Source: Entrepreneur

CSR: Single Time Zone in India causing hinderance in National Development

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Hency Thacker

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February 8, 2019

Poverty and Education are two issues that India is struggling with for decades. Many reasons have been listed for causing these problems in the country, including overpopulation, lack of awareness, gender inequality, corruption, and many more. However, new research suggests that a single time zone in the entire country also plays a role in contributing to these issues.

The distance between the westernmost point and the easternmost point in India is 2933 kilometres. This distance is more than the distance between some countries. For example, the distance between London, UK and Kiev, Ukraine is 2133 kilometres. However, the two cities are two time zones apart, but the whole of India follows the same time zone, despite the difference in the sunrise and sunset time.

According to a paper authored by Maulik Jagnani, a PhD in Applied Economics and Management candidate at Cornell University, a single time zone in India costs the country billions of dollars each year and robs the children of the chance at a proper education. The argument presented in the paper, states that children in the country wake up for school roughly around the same time every day. However, they sleep later at places where sunsets later. This is why the children in western India get less sleep which is then reflected in performance in education and eventually on reduced wages than in eastern India.

For each hour later that the sun sets in a given location relative to the second part of India, a child living in that first location will get 30 minutes less sleep. A child who lives somewhere where the sun sets at 7 pm, for example, will, on average, get 30 minutes less sleep than a child who lives somewhere where the sun sets at 6 pm.

Like always, the poorest children and families suffer the most, with “low socioeconomic status” households least able to assert a hard bedtime in regions with later sunsets. Children of these families may lose an extra seven minutes per night compared to other children living in the same part of India. This might be because it’s just harder for them to practice good sleep hygiene practices such as separate, indoor beds; mosquito nets; window shades; or adequate nutrition.

According to a rough calculation by the author, India might incur “annual human capital gains of over $4.2 billion” by introducing one more time zone. It will also give a better chance to the country’s poorest children to gain a proper education.

Thank you for reading the column until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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CSR in 2019: 10 Judicial Reforms For India

By

Kasmin Fernandes

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February 8, 2019

A study carried out by the Ministry of Finance found that it takes, on an average, almost 20 years for a property related dispute to be resolved. By that timeline, it would take 324 years just to clear the present backlog at the current rate of disposal!

The huge backlog of pending cases is a critical logistical and efficiency issue. To tackle the issue, NITI Aayog recommends the following capacity building and sustainable solutions should be considered in consultation with the judiciary:

1. Shift certain sections of the workload out of the regular court system to commercial courts, the commercial division and the commercial appellate division of High Courts for commercial disputes and the Criminal Judicial Magistrate for criminal cases at least in metropolitan areas to decongest courts.

2. Merge and rationalize tribunals to enhance efficiency. Appointments to tribunals must be streamlined either through a specialized agency or under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

3. Judicial decisions need to take account of their economic and social impact, especially in cases pertaining to contract, labour, tax, corporate and constitutional issues as observed by the Supreme Court in a recent judicial decision.

4. An all-India judicial services examination on a ranking basis can be considered to maintain high standards in the judiciary. The selection process may be entrusted to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for a cadre of lower judiciary judges (first induction level), Indian Legal Service (both centre and states), prosecutors, legal advisors, and legal draftsmen. This will attract young and bright law graduates and help build a new cadre that can enhance accountability in the governance system.

5. Multi-faceted training faculty for judicial academies including reputed lawyers, successful NGOs and others, for holistic exposure.

6. Training modules should be live streamed on an e-platform to make information easily accessible, and widely disseminated.

7. A performance index for judges and a separate state wise index for ease of getting justice.

8. Introduce an administrative cadre in the judicial system to streamline processes. To maintain judicial independence, the cadre should report to the Chief Justice in each High Court.

9. Prioritize court process automation and ICT enablement for electronic court and case management, including electronic management of court schedules and migration of all courts to the unified national court application software.

10. Facilitate the availability and usage of videoconferencing facilities to assist in speedy access to justice and to minimize judicial logistical issues.

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CSR spending has mostly gone to set priorities of India Inc: Anuja Bansal, Secretary General, SOS Children’s Villages of India

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Kasmin Fernandes

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February 7, 2019

One person can make a difference. Working together we make lasting changes, believes Anuja Bansal. As Secretary General of SOS Children’s Villages of India, her role is to lead the organisation in the strategic direction they have envisaged for themselves by 2020 and 2030, with the support and partnership of all stakeholders.

With over five decades of experience in providing committed child care and service to once parentless and abandoned children, SOS Children’s Villages of India is the flagbearer in the country in providing group foster care. It is an independent non-governmental organisation, providing family-like care to children deprived of parental care and the support of a family.

It is one of the first NGOs to be accredited by CRISIL for “Strong delivery capability and Highest Financial proficiency”. The brand is also rated by TRACE for anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices and was the first NGO in the sector to be awarded the “Super Brand” status.

“We are a large, self-implementing organisation, with over 1700 employees and pan India presence at 32 locations in 22 states. Over 26,000 children are receiving holistic care, love and protection through two flagship programmes; Family Like Care (FLC) and Family Strengthening Programme (FSP),” says Ms. Bansal.

SOS India raises about 50% of its funds from corporates through CSR funds. “We work with at least 60-70 corporates from various sectors across the country,” she says. However, her concern is that although there has been a substantial increase in the social activities incurred by the firms, the spending has mostly gone to the set priorities of the company rather than the democratically determined priorities. For instance, combating various diseases and promotion of education accounted for 44% of the total CSR expenditure last year while reducing child mortality received no funding and eradicating extreme hunger and poverty received only 6% of the total CSR expenditure.

Excerpts from her exclusive interview with The CSR Journal:

Has the 2% mandate in the Companies Act, 2013 been good news for non-profits?

Both the CRISIL and Prime Database analyses show that only a little over half (57%) of the companies complied with the 2% stipulation.

The underspending also means that if NGOs had expected a funding nirvana from CSR, it is not yet in sight. Though most companies look for either NGOs or government to partner with, the amounts going to them are far less than what were expected; and they do not compensate for the loss of declining foreign funds or government grants.

Though large NGOs have seen a spike in donations from companies, the grants given have not been as large as expected, nor transformational. They have not led to scale in the operations and impact of NGOs; nor have they led to policy changes, or to the strengthening of the development sector as a whole.

Where do you see gaps in CSR implementation?

Fear that the companies would find their way to avoid shelling out money for CSR activities has appeared to be well-founded. A survey by accountancy firm KPMG found that 52 of the country’s largest 100 companies failed to spend the required 2% last year.

According to the KPMG Report, geographic bias with respect to the company’s funding of CSR activities is also prevalent, as firms tend to fund those projects that are closer to where they are based. These result in industrialized areas getting preference over the poorer and underdeveloped areas that are truly in need of some development and aid.

Even though there has been a substantial increase in the social activities incurred by the firms, the spending has mostly gone to the set priorities of the company rather than the democratically determined priorities.

Of the nine different schedules prescribed by The Companies Act, 2013, two schedules: combating various diseases and promotion of education accounted for 44% of the total CSR expenditure while reducing child mortality received no funding and eradicating extreme hunger and poverty received only 6% of the total CSR expenditure.

How did SOS Children’s Villages get its name?

Dr. Hermann Gmeiner, a child welfare worker, initiated SOS Children’s Villages to help parentless children after the world war. The organization was registered in Austria in 1949.

With the generous support of donors, child sponsors, partners and friends, Gmeiner’s vision of providing loving care in a family like environment for children without parental care, and of helping families stay together so they can care for their children, has grown steadily over seven decades and is active in 135 countries and territories around the world.

Out of this, SOS India has the largest reach with 32 projects in 22 states providing direct care to over 7,000 once parentless children annually under our Group Foster Care model.

[Here’s what Hollywood actor Christian Bale had to say about SOS India on his visit to India]

We have been present in India for 53 years and provide long term care and support to parentless and abandoned children in a very unique family-like environment. We also support children who are at risk of losing parental care.

What is your approach towards aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

As a child care organisation and as individuals, SOS Children’s Villages of India have the chance to ensure that all children have equal opportunities to grow with dignity, security and respect – in a caring environment as every child deserves. Our work to care for and protect children made vulnerable by the loss of parental care also plays an integral role in helping the world meet some very ambitious goals enshrined in the SDGs.

SOS Children’s Villages is focused on reaching out to the millions of children without parental care or at risk of losing it. We are helping to meet the SDGs by preventing family separation, ensuring quality alternative care while preparing young people for independent living.

SOS India has 443 families. These families have a maximum of 10 children in the care of a dedicated mother. The mothers at SOS India work towards building a close relationship with, and providing the security, love and stability to, every child entrusted to her. Presently SOS India has 26,000 children under its direct care. We aim to double this figure over a period of 3-4 years without compromising on the quality of care that we provide.

Tell us about your current role at SOS Children’s Villages of India.

As the head, I try to lead by example and have been able to steer quite a few innovations resulting in strengthening of the organisation. I have been instrumental in initiating technical partnerships with Government stakeholders to expand the outreach of the organisation to larger number of children in need of care and protection. I have also tried to drive the SOS India brand and enhance its visibility as a thought leader in the child care space.

Which companies has the India chapter partnered with?

Of the funds raised in India, SOS India raises about 50% of its funds from corporates through CSR funds. We work with at least 60-70 corporates from various sectors across the country.

We collaborate with them on various thematic alignments ranging from Education, Child Nutrition, scholarships to women for empowerment, community development, livelihood promotion, skilling, youth leadership and employability. Corporates have also helped us in construction of children’s villages, youth homes, computer centres and provided capital assets like vehicles, solar power units, computers furniture etc.

Since our programmes have a lengthy tenure of over two decades, we look for sustainable partnerships with corporates which extend beyond one year. We are seeing an increasing trend on this front. Some corporates have partnered with us consistently for over 6-7 years which speaks volumes about their trust.

SOS India also provides excellent opportunities for employee volunteering and engagement since there is a pan India presence across 22 states.

Which is your latest partnership?

Around 47 per cent graduates in India are unemployable and lack of proper communication skills and professional skills are a major drawback in employing them. Responding to the need, SOS Children’s Villages of India (SOS India) and AkzoNobel India are launching the first of its kind career skilling programme “Let’s Colour” for youth from SOS CV India, spread across the country. Helping to transform lives is at the heart of Let’s Colour initiative, using education and renovation to drive a positive impact on the issue of youth unemployment.

Additionally, AkzoNobel India is painting 10 Family Homes of SOS Children’s Village Greenfield, Faridabad, and flagging off the launch of the skilling programme by painting the Community Centre in the village in record time. The aim of this initiative is to mainstream nearly 350 SOS CV Youth across the country in 2019.

In your experience, what would be the ideal partnership model between corporates, non-profits and the government?

As seen everywhere, collaborations and associations make for an effective business case with respect to achieving maximum impact for a given CSR capital investment. While there can be apprehensions and concerns raised on the ease of tracking data and progress amidst collaborations, the reporting requirements have ensured that the process is transparent with corporates having to disclose their funds spent in each collaboration.

NGOs on their part have never been better positioned than now to be the consumers of a large quantum of capital. The premise of companies wanting to associate with them in their efforts not only fuels their cause directly but also increases the visibility of their work, thus building trust and credibility for them.

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Kraft Heinz contributes 21 lakhs to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Relief Fund

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The CSR Journal

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February 7, 2019

Kraft Heinz has contributed INR 21 lakhs to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Relief Fund. Sankalp Potbhare, Managing Director, Kraft Heinz India handed over a cheque to Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister Maharashtra.

Sankalp Potbhare, Managing Director, Kraft Heinz India said, “We want to contribute as much as we can to support India. This is at the heart of everything that we do. We offer our support to the state of Maharashtra and by contributing to the CM’s relief fund we want to reach out to the people in distress and provide financial assistance in the development of the people.”

Kraft Heinz aims to enhance nutrition and provide aid to different parts of the country in a prompt and effective manner. In the past the company has offered assistance in the rehabilitation of the victims of the Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala flooding through medical aid, micronutrient fortified dry meals, cash and product donations.

The company also recently pledged support and contributed to the relief efforts of Cyclone Gaja in Tamil Nadu. Kraft Heinz aims to continue to augment its support towards aiding various causes for the upliftment of India and understand its responsibilities towards the country.

Why choosing Organic Food is not enough to bring Sustainability in Food Industry

By

Hency Thacker

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February 7, 2019

Health concerns over additional preservatives in food and concerns over how food is being produced has made the organic food industry very popular. In fact, according to a report by Zion Market Research titled “Organic Food and Beverage Market: Global Industry Perspective” global organic food and beverages market was valued at approximately USD 124.76 billion in 2017 and is expected to generate revenue of around USD 323.09 billion by the end of 2024, growing at a CAGR of around 14.56% between 2017 and 2024.

However, consumer choice alone is not enough to revolutionise our food and agriculture system. This is mainly because of two reasons.

First is the price of organic food. Compared to the conventionally cultivated food, organic food is expensive by 10% to 80%. Since the air, water and soil are contaminated by pesticides, to grow totally organic food, a lot more vigilance and care is required. This makes it difficult to produce and hence, expensive. Thus, even if the market as a whole keeps growing, the demand will be only limited as it may not be entirely affordable for everyone.

Another is the unwillingness of the cultivator to feed the livestock with organic food. In order to feed the livestock, the cultivators prefer conventional farming, since it is cheap, easy and produces more quantity. This is why the conventional cultivation will always have a larger share than the organic cultivation.

The solution is in the diversification of the food production and making the process financially, economically and environmentally sustainable on every level. The task nearly impossible for the almost illiterate farmers of India can be only achieved if the corporates participate in the process.

The corporates working in the food sector has to step up and partner with the farmers by educating, monitoring and facilitate selling the sustainably produced products, in order for food systems to move towards sustainability.

Thank you for reading the column until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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Spark Minda, Ashok Minda Group organise 12 day Camp for Persons with Disabilities

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The CSR Journal

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February 7, 2019

Spark Minda, Ashok Minda Group with their special program “Saksham” under Spark Minda Foundation organised a 12 day Empowerment Camp for Persons with Disability in Pune in association with 12 local NGOs.

The camp provided end-to-end support in Limb fitment, Caliper fitment, Walkers, Elbow Crutches, Tricycle, wheelchair and other assistive aids to persons with a disability.

‘Saksham’ is a CSR program started by Spark Minda, Ashok Minda Group to help Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Under Saksham, the Group aims to provide accessible and assistive technologies, impart skill training through OJT (On the job training), create inclusive workplace and ergonomics, train them for 5s and life skills, employ PWD’s (Persons with Disability).

Speaking at the felicitation ceremony of Artificial Limb Fitment, Ashok Minda, Group CEO, said, “The Artificial Limb Fitment Camp started with merely 500 fitments in 2015. Within three years, we have enabled more than 5000 PWD with successful limb fitments in different parts of world. We are thankful to “Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklaang Sahatya Samiti (Jaipur Foot)” for their trust; support and expertise which has enabled Spark Minda Foundation to provide successfully implement these camps all over.”

Mrs. Sarika Minda (extreme left) at 12 day artificial limb fitment camp in Pune

Sarika Minda, Chairperson, Spark Minda Foundation, said: “Starting with a production belt in Yerwada Jail and now setting up Saksham-Divyang Empowerment Center in Chimbali, we have enabled to provide a sustainable life to community at a whole. We are proud to say that within a span of 12 days, we have been able to provide more than 1000 limb amputation in and around Pune. Jaipur Foot has been indispensible part of our every limb fitment camp.”

In continuation to the legacy of responsible corporate citizenship, the CSR activities by the group are derived from the triple bottom line model of People, Planet and Profit. Ensuring environment sustainability with community care are the thematic divisions, surrounding which the CSR activities are planned and executed across the Group.

Navi Mumbai Airport Displacing Families, Destroying Ecosystems

By

Kasmin Fernandes

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February 7, 2019

Besides displacing thousands of people, the proposed Navi Mumbai airport is expected to destroy local mangrove and wetland ecosystems.

3,500 families displaced

Approximately 3,500 families residing in 10 villages are being displaced a new airport in Navi Mumbai. They have sustained a long-term struggle for fair rehabilitation, according to GAAM (Global Anti-Aerotropolis Movement).

A perfunctory one-hour public hearing held on 5th May 2010 was boycotted by residents of all the affected villages. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not made public and people from the affected villages stood outside waving black flags in protest, demanding due compensation, states Down To Earth.

Construction before relocation

Pre-construction work on the airport site began in October 2017, even though villagers had not relocated to the resettlement areas. A major protest by residents of six villages on 12th October 2017 brought pre-construction work on the airport site to a halt. Families still living on the site resolved to remain in their homes until the plots of land allocated for resettlement were developed. On 27th October, it was announced that work on the Navi Mumbai Airport site would resume under heavy police protection, reports The Times of India.

Explosives were being set off three times per day, loosening the ground in order to cut and level Ulwe hill to make way for the airport runway. Blasting as little as 100 metres from people’s homes sent stones flying distances of up to 200 metres, including into a nearby school.

Records destroyed

In November 2017 some PAPs alleged that records proving their land ownership had been destroyed by CIDCO. In November 2017, two thousand residents of the villages of Targhar, Pargaon, Ulwe, Kolhi, Kopar, Ganesh Puri, Chinchpada, Dungi and Manghar gathered to step up their demands for fair compensation and rehabilitation from CIDCO. The villagers united their struggles to form a new organization: Navi Mumbai International Airport Affected Peoples, which will take up their demands with CIDCO.

Injury and risk

On 6th January 2018 five engineers working in the site were injured, two of them severely, hit by falling rocks during supposedly ‘controlled’ blasting work, reported the Mumbai edition of daily newspaper, DNA. Villagers in Siddhart Nagar suffered injuries too; five women were bruised by stones coming through their roofs of their homes and a seven-year old boy who had been playing outside his house needed two stitches to his head.

On 13th February 2018 hundreds of residents of Pargaon, one of the villages neighbouring Navi Mumbai Airport site, held a protest march saying landfilling works put them at risk of flooding.

Destroying biodiversity

Biodiverse wildlife habitats encompassed within the site will be destroyed: 121 hectares of forest, 162 hectares of mangroves and 404 hectares of mudflats, states another Times of India report. Concerns that replacing waterlogged areas that soak up excess water with impermeable concrete and tarmac will disrupt the water balance in the wider region and make the surrounding area more susceptible to flooding were raised in 2010.

A study conducted by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) showed that airport operations are likely to impinge upon bird habitats over a wide area of coastline, creeks, mangroves and inland wetlands. BNHS showed an estimated 266 bird species within a 10 km radius of the airport site, including the Karnala Bird Sanctuary.

A mangrove sanctuary, on land bordering the airport, to mitigate against the destruction of mangroves was proposed, but abandoned due to the risk of bird strikes, collisions with aircraft that can cause fatal accidents.

Unmet conditions

In February 2018, Vanashakti, an NGO focused on forest, mangrove and wetland protection, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) claiming that failure to comply with environmental clearance requirements to replace mangrove habitats meant that conditions for starting the airport project has not been met, reports MoneyControl.com. Vanashatki also stated that blasting of Ulwe hill had commenced without adhering to environmental rules.

By January 2019 the majority of the villagers had taken up CIDCO’s resettlement scheme and vacated their homes but a number of residents of Ganeshpuri, Targhar, Ulwe and Kombadbhuje villages still resisted eviction and remained in their homes.

Navi Mumbai airport is an example of damage in the name of “development”.

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1. NGOs Will Adapt and Get Better at Working With the New Type of Funders – Corporates

2. Corporates Will Start Thinking of CSR as Another Pillar of Their Corporate Strategy, Instead of as Philanthropy

3. More Companies Will Comply and Engage in Long-term Partnerships With NGOs

4. For-Profit Social Ventures Will Emerge as a Major Force of Social Good

5. Technology and Innovation Will Play a Major Role in Addressing Structural Issues in the Social Sector

A study carried out by the Ministry of Finance found that it takes, on an average, almost 20 years for a property related dispute to be resolved. By that timeline, it would take 324 years just to clear the present backlog at the current rate of disposal!

The huge backlog of pending cases is a critical logistical and efficiency issue. To tackle the issue, NITI Aayog recommends the following capacity building and sustainable solutions should be considered in consultation with the judiciary:

2. Merge and rationalize tribunals to enhance efficiency. Appointments to tribunals must be streamlined either through a specialized agency or under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

3. Judicial decisions need to take account of their economic and social impact, especially in cases pertaining to contract, labour, tax, corporate and constitutional issues as observed by the Supreme Court in a recent judicial decision.

5. Multi-faceted training faculty for judicial academies including reputed lawyers, successful NGOs and others, for holistic exposure.

6. Training modules should be live streamed on an e-platform to make information easily accessible, and widely disseminated.

7. A performance index for judges and a separate state wise index for ease of getting justice.

8. Introduce an administrative cadre in the judicial system to streamline processes. To maintain judicial independence, the cadre should report to the Chief Justice in each High Court.

9. Prioritize court process automation and ICT enablement for electronic court and case management, including electronic management of court schedules and migration of all courts to the unified national court application software.

10. Facilitate the availability and usage of videoconferencing facilities to assist in speedy access to justice and to minimize judicial logistical issues.

It is one of the first NGOs to be accredited by CRISIL for “Strong delivery capability and Highest Financial proficiency”. The brand is also rated by TRACE for anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices and was the first NGO in the sector to be awarded the “Super Brand” status.

Excerpts from her exclusive interview with The CSR Journal:

Has the 2% mandate in the Companies Act, 2013 been good news for non-profits?

Both the CRISIL and Prime Database analyses show that only a little over half (57%) of the companies complied with the 2% stipulation.

Where do you see gaps in CSR implementation?

Fear that the companies would find their way to avoid shelling out money for CSR activities has appeared to be well-founded. A survey by accountancy firm KPMG found that 52 of the country’s largest 100 companies failed to spend the required 2% last year.

Even though there has been a substantial increase in the social activities incurred by the firms, the spending has mostly gone to the set priorities of the company rather than the democratically determined priorities.

How did SOS Children’s Villages get its name?

Dr. Hermann Gmeiner, a child welfare worker, initiated SOS Children’s Villages to help parentless children after the world war. The organization was registered in Austria in 1949.

Out of this, SOS India has the largest reach with 32 projects in 22 states providing direct care to over 7,000 once parentless children annually under our Group Foster Care model.

We have been present in India for 53 years and provide long term care and support to parentless and abandoned children in a very unique family-like environment. We also support children who are at risk of losing parental care.

What is your approach towards aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

SOS Children’s Villages is focused on reaching out to the millions of children without parental care or at risk of losing it. We are helping to meet the SDGs by preventing family separation, ensuring quality alternative care while preparing young people for independent living.

Tell us about your current role at SOS Children’s Villages of India.

THECSRJOURNAL