Cont….
Projects at Birla Group are planned after a participatory need assessment of the communities around the plants. Each project has a one-year and a three-year rolling plan, with milestones and measurable targets. The objective is to phase out their presence over a period of time and hand over the reins of further development to the people. This also enables them to widen their reach. Along with internal performance assessment mechanisms, the projects are audited by reputed external agencies, who measure it on qualitative and quantitative parameters, helping them gauge the effectiveness and providing excellent inputs.
The partners in development are government bodies, district authorities, village panchayats and the end beneficiaries — the villagers. The Government has, in their 5-year plans, special funds earmarked for human development and the people at Birla Group recourse to many of these. At the same time, they network and collaborate with like-minded bilateral and unilateral agencies to share ideas, draw from each other's experiences, and ensure that efforts are not duplicated. At another level, this provides a platform for advocacy. Some of the agencies they have collaborated with are UNFPA, SIFSA, CARE India, Habitat for Humanity International, Unicef and the World Bank.
Sustainable development, livelihood, agriculture and watershed development
In this they have the following work done
· Self – help groups
· SGSY – dairy, readymade garments, jute project, basket making, aggarbati making, bee keeping, durrie making
· Check dam
· Irrigation
· Land development
· Soil and water conservation
· Pasture development
· Social forestry/ plantation activities/ nursery
· Horticulture and
· Farmer training
Infrastructure development
· Roads
· Dams
· Community centres
· Houses
· Electricity
· Health centres
· Water channels and
· Schools
