Environmental Impact of NALCO CSR: A Perceptual Study of Kanyabeda Village

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Environmental Impact of NALCO CSR: A Perceptual Study of Kanyabeda Village

Ms. DebashreeMohapatra, Asst. Professor Department of Business Administration Angul Govt.College (Auto), Angul, Odisha

&

DrChandrakantaSahoo, Asst. Professor Department of Management Studies

MITS, Madanapalle, ChitoorDist, AP

Abstract

The Environmental Assessment unfolds the positive as well as negative consequences of a proposed action. The research output is presented in the description through three segments. First segment has developed environmental impact on the basis of the perception of people. It describes different dimensions of environmental degradation like air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and land degradation and other environment problems. The second segment is devoted to a brief outline economic impact of environmental degradation caused by NALCO. It shows distribution of morbidity on the basis of income range. Morbidity is classified under days of hospitalization, work loss or house rest. It describes no of problems due to NALCO suffered by the people ofKanyabeda village. The third segment summarizes the conclusions. It indicates environmental loss and developmental gain of Kanyabeda village due to the operations of NALCO are analyzed here.

Key Words: Sustainable Development, Environmental sustainability, CSR, Pollution

1.1. INTRODUCTION

The Environmental Sustainable Development has become much discussed topic in the corporate and public Diaspora and in last few decades, the world has taken special interest in discussing the concept in greater detail putting insight more into laying standards for industries to contribute to the cause. These efforts are supplemented with strong public opinion, supported by synchronization between international bodies and national governments. Each industry poses different challenges to the surrounding environment, which if not addressed in time, will create havoc for the human existence as well as the flora and fauna. Nalco, Odisha, in the process of manufacturing, affects the environment through various forms of pollutants. In turn, what contribution it makes for environmental sustainability?

2.0. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1. ENVIRONMENT

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“Environment includes water, air and land and the inter-relationship which exists among and between water, air and land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property.”

The term pollution signifies any adverse change in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of or air, land and water that may or will detrimentally affect human life or that of desirable species, our industrial processes, living conditions and cultural assets; or that may or will deteriorate our raw material resources. It is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the eco-system i.e., physical systems or living organism.

The term “development” has been defined from multiple perspectives such as (i) a human created change to improved or unimproved real estate, including building or other structures, mining, dredging, filing, grading, paving, excavating, and drilling ; (ii) an activity, action, or alteration that changes undeveloped property into developed property (Black Law Dictionary, 8th Ed. 2004)4 2.2. SUSTAINABILE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development, strikes a balance between two competing principles of economic

development and environmental protection. As per Brundtland report5, sustainable development

means the process of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs. With the advent of the industrial revolution, the air has turned into a poisonous mix of toxic gases, noxious fumes, dust and particulate matters. Pollution can be caused by automobile emission, industrial activity, domestic activity, industrial waste, municipal sewage, agricultural activity, indiscriminate solid waste disposal, mining operations, deforestation and improper use of land, clinical waste, and radio- active elements. In the light of wide ranging polluting activities, the concept of environment sustainability assumes significance, which in simple words requires responsible interaction with the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and allow for long-term environmental quality.

Environmental jurisprudence comprising of regulations, both international as well as municipal is designed to fulfill the goal of environment sustainability. The term ‘sustainability’ signifies the balance between outcome and goals, which requires focusing on social, environmental and economic impacts of business (National Voluntary Guidelines, 2011)5

2.3. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

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3.1. OBJECTIVES

 To study different dimensions of environmental degradation caused by Nalco in kanyabeda village.

 To study the economic impact of environmental degradation caused by NALCO in Kanyabeda village

 To offer suggestion the environmental sustainability measures.

3.1. DATA SOURCE AND METHODOLOGY

The researchers have collected data from two sources: Primary and Secondary. Since, it is a perceptual study, primary data has been collected using the instrument-questionnaire. Secondary data has been collected from the literature published in journals, magazines, newspapers. The size of the sample is 200 and the respondents have been selected using simple random technique. The findings have been analyzed using descriptive statistics.

4.1. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

For the present study, the researchers have selected a village named Kanyabeda that comes under the periphery of Nalco Nagar.

4.2. THE VILLAGE8

Kanyabeda village is located 145 km on road to the Northwest from Bhubaneswar, the capital of the Odisha. The village comes under north side of the Angul district and northwest of the Banarpal block. Kanyabeda village has a total population of 1410 according to the survey made in 2011 by District Planning and Statistical Office of the Angul. It is found that Scheduled Cast (SC) constitute 24.06% of the population. 54.63% (772) of the people belongs to OBC which is majority caste group of the village. General castes from 9.4% (237). Scheduled Tribes are a minority with only 3.4%.Out of 898 total literates, 359 belong female and 539 are male .Only 898 persons of the village are literates. The sex composition of the village shows that about are 52.44% male and 47.34%are female. Occupational distribution of the population reveals that bulk of the people in the village depend upon agriculture for their livelihood. There is one M.E school in the village, but there is no library .One Angnwadi and one mini-Anganwadicentre are functioning in the village. There is no bank in this village. The village is served by a puccacement road which connects main road of Angul with Kanyabeda. One PMGYS road also connects village Kanyabeda to kurudul village. The DPS School and SVM College are situated in NALCO which is near by 2 kms from Kanyabeda village. But the fact is that BPL families are not benefited from this facilities. All the BPL families are being benefited from schemes. Medical facility is not so good in the village. But NALCO medical is located nearby village. One Government Medical is at Angul district which is 7 kms away from the village. The police station is 3 kms away from the village. The Kanyabeda village comes under NALCO Nagar which is 3 kms away. Drinking water facility is not adequate,the postal and Tele-communication system is not satisfactory in this village. Neither any mobile network tower nor STD center is available in the village. People are very much dependent of Banarpal and Angul towers which are respectively 3 Kms and 7 Kms away from the villager. The native language of Kanyabeda village is Oriya and all of the village people speak Oriya language for communication.

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necessities of life .They have to struggle for their existence .Most of the houses are made up of mud .The normal roof is made from straw. Some of the households are the beneficiaries of Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) but the impact of the programme is not quite satisfactory .Only five households are beneficiary of IAY.

The village Kanyabeda is characterized by low level of literacy, inadequate health .But infrastructural development has been possible due to NALCO. Most of the majority of household depends on agricultural activities.

5.0.FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

5.1 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

The ecological impact of NALCO is analyzed here on the basis of the perception of people. The sample households were asked to state the different dimensions of environmental degradation, which they consider as most harmful to them. Table 4.12 shows that 53% of the households felt that air pollution is the most important problem of NALCO, followed by water pollution and land degradation. People of lower income groups (below Rs.2 lakhs) suffer the most from environmental degradation caused by NALCO.

Table 1: Environmental problems of the sample households of Kanyabeda due to NALCO (No. of households)

Sl. No.

Annual income range

(Rs in lakhs)

Air polluti

on

Water pollution

Noise Pollution

Land Degradati

on

Other environmen

t problems

Total

1 Up to 1 8 3 - 3 4 19

2 1-2 10 2 - 5 2 19

3 2-3 3 2 1 1 1 8

4 3-4 9 2 1 1 1 14

5 4-5 3 1 - 1 1 06

6 5-6 7 3 1 - 1 12

7 6-7 5 - - 2 3 10

8 7-8 5 1 - 4 3 13

9 Above 8 3 5 - 1 2 11

10 Total 53 19 3 18 18 111

Source: Compiled from field survey

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Table 2: Distribution of victims according to nature of air pollution (No of sample households)

Sl. No. Annual income range (Rs in lakhs)

Air pollution externality code Total

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Up to 1 4 4 2 5 1 0 16

2 1-2 5 4 4 2 0 1 16

3 2-3 2 3 2 1 0 0 8

4 3-4 3 4 4 2 1 0 14

5 4-5 1 2 2 1 0 0 6

6 5-6 2 3 0 2 1 1 12

7 6-7 2 2 2 1 0 1 12

8 7-8 2 2 3 1 1 0 9

9 Above 8 3 2 3 1 1 1 11

10 Total 24 28 26 13 5 4 100

Codes:Smoke emission from Chimney of NALCO, (2) Heavy dust, (3) Highest use of A.C, (4) Grinding of coal, (5) Emission from smelter plant, (6) Industrial wastage.

People in Kanyabeda feel that three types of water pollution cause injury to their socio-economic life. They are emission of chemicals into water, leakage of polluted water from ash pond and presence of fluoride and iron in water. Table 3 classifies the sample households according to their perceived nature of water pollution. 39 households clearly stated that water pollution is caused mainly due to leakage of polluted water from ash pond and 50 households opined that water pollution is due to fluoride and iron in the water, which is one of the major causes of health hazards.

Table 3: Types of water pollution perceived by the sample households (No. of households)

No of households

Nature of water pollution

1 2 3 Total

1 Up to 1 16 2 6 8 16

2 1-2 16 3 6 7 16

3 2-3 8 0 3 5 8

4 3-4 14 3 5 6 14

5 4-5 6 0 3 3 6

6 5-6 12 2 4 6 12

7 6-7 8 0 4 4 8

8 7-8 9 1 3 5 9

9 Above 8 11 0 5 6 11

10 Total 100 11 39 50 100

Codes: Chemical emission, (2) Leakage of polluted water from ash pond, (3) Presence of fluoride and iron in water.

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of these hardships associated by the households of different income groups. The most frequently occurring health damage is hair loss (34%) followed by joint pain (28%) and stomach problem (27%). Table 4: Human health problems associated with water pollution (No. of households)

Sl. No. Annual income range (Rs in lakhs)

Codes of hardship Total

1 2 3 4

1 Up to 1 4 5 2 5 16

2 1-2 6 3 2 5 16

3 2-3 2 3 1 2 8

4 3-4 5 3 2 4 14

5 4-5 2 2 1 1 6

6 5-6 5 3 2 2 12

7 6-7 3 3 0 2 8

8 7-8 3 2 1 3 9

9 Above 8 4 3 0 4 11

10 Total 34 27 11 28 100

Codes:Hair loss Problem , (2) Stomach Problem , (3) kidney Problem , (4) Joint Pain

Table 5indicates the opinions of the respondents on the hardships due to land pollution mainly related to fly ash. Maximum number of households 52 emphasized negative impact on agriculture as one of the major problems caused by large scale mining and use of coal. On the other hand, 48 respondents focused on decline in fertility of land due to land pollution over a longer period.

Table 5: Problems associated with land pollution (No of households)

No of households

Land Pollution (Hardship)

1 2 Total

1 Up to 1 16 7 9 16

2 1-2 16 8 8 16

3 2-3 8 5 3 8

4 3-4 14 7 7 14

5 4-5 6 4 2 6

6 5-6 12 7 5 12

7 6-7 8 4 4 8

8 7-8 9 5 4 9

9 Above 8 11 5 6 11

10 Total 100 52 48 100

Codes:Negative impact on agriculture, (2) Decline in fertility of land.

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Table 6:Hardships due to environmental impact of NALCO on the people of Kanyabeda under different income ranges. (No. of households)

Sl. No. Annual income range (Rs in lakhs)

Environmental Degradation (Hardship)

1 2 3 Total

1 Up to 1 7 5 4 16

2 1-2 6 6 4 16

3 2-3 4 2 2 8

4 3-4 6 5 3 14

5 4-5 3 2 1 6

6 5-6 5 4 3 12

7 6-7 4 3 1 8

8 7-8 4 3 2 9

9 Above 8 6 4 1 11

10 Total 45 34 21 100

11 Percentage

Distribution

45 34 21 100

Code: (1) Rise in atmospheric temperature, (2) Decline in rain fall, (3) Health degradation 5.2 ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENAL DEGRADATION

People ofKanyabeda frequently suffer from nine diseases, which the respondents have attributedto the environmental degradation caused by NALCO. Such diseases are Malaria, Typhoid, Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Acidity, Asthma, Joint pain, Heart Problem and Lungs problem. 25.77% of the sample people are suffering from Malaria which is highest in the table 7. People of Kanyabada village are also suffering from Typhoid, rise Blood sugar and blood pressure. In table 19B shows 56.68% of population suffering from frequently disease.

Table 7: Distribution of frequently suffered diseases among the sample population (No of persons)

Sl. No.

Annual income range (Rs in lakhs)

Total population

Codes for the frequently suffered diseases

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 Up to 1 67 15 12 2 1 0 3 2

2 1-2 62 7 3 1 1 13 22 0

3 2-3 23 5 1 1 1 0 0 0

4 3-4 61 8 2 11 22 1 0 0

5 4-5 30 4 2 2 2 0 0 0

6 5-6 41 5 6 1 2 0 0 0

7 6-7 33 6 1 1 2 1 0 0

8 7-8 37 5 1 1 1 1 1 0

9 Above 8 46 3 5 13 8 2 0 0

10 Total 400 58 33 33 40 18 26 2

11 Percentage Distribution

... 25.77 14.67 14.67 17.78 8.00 11.56 0.89

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Table 8: Distribution of frequently suffered diseases among the sample population (No of persons)

Sl. No.

Codes for the frequently suffered

diseases

Total No. Of persons suffering from

diseases

Total populat

ion

% from total populatio

n

% from total affected

people

8 9

1 Up to 1 0 1 36 67 53.73 16.00

2 1-2 0 0 47 62 75.80 20.88

3 2-3 0 0 8 23 34.78 3.55

4 3-4 6 0 50 61 81.96 22.22

5 4-5 0 0 10 30 33.33 4.44

6 5-6 0 0 14 41 34.14 6.22

7 6-7 0 0 11 33 33.33 4.88

8 7-8 0 0 10 37 27.02 4.44

9 Above 8 8 0 39 46 84.78 17.33

10 Total 14 1 225 400 56.25 100.00

11 Percentage Distribution

6.22 0.44 100.00 ... ... ...

Codes:(1) Malaria, (2) Typhoid, (3) Rise in Blood sugar, (4) Rise in Blood pressure, (5) Acidity, (6) Asthma, (7) Joint pain, (8) Heart Problem, (9) Lungs Problem

Table 9 shows distribution of morbidity on the basis of income ranges. Morbidity is classified under days of hospitalization, work loss or house rest such as up to 10 days, 10 to 20 days, 20 to 30 days, 30 to 40 days and above 40 days. The table shows that people of lower income have higher morbidity due to health problems associated with environment pollution of NALCO.

Table 9: Distribution of morbidity in the sample families of Kanyabeda under different income ranges

Sl. No. Annual income range (Rs in lakhs)

Morbidity (No. of households) 0-10

Days

10-20 Days

20-30 days

30-40 Days

Above 40 Days

Total

1 Up to 1 0 3 4 4 5 16

2 1-2 6 2 4 2 2 16

3 2-3 2 4 2 0 0 8

4 3-4 4 4 0 2 4 14

5 4-5 0 0 0 5 1 6

6 5-6 0 0 7 5 0 12

7 6-7 2 3 0 2 1 8

8 7-8 0 4 0 3 2 9

9 Above 8 0 3 6 2 0 11

10 Total 14 23 23 25 15 100

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Table 10: Annual cost of treatment of diseases

Sl. No Annual income range (Rs in lakhs)

Cost of treatment per annum (Rs. in thousands) 0-30 30-60 60-90 90-120 Above

120

Total

1 Up to 1 14 2 0 0 0 16

2 1-2 2 5 8 1 0 16

3 2-3 1 0 2 5 0 8

4 3-4 1 3 6 4 0 14

5 4-5 0 0 5 1 0 6

6 5-6 0 1 7 0 4 12

7 6-7 0 1 1 3 3 8

8 7-8 3 1 2 3 0 9

9 Above 8 0 0 9 2 0 11

10 Total 21 13 40 19 7 100

Table 11 shows that the total annual expenditure of 100 households on health problems is Rs.7291,000. The expenditure on pollution related health problems is higher in the middle income groups. The table shows that the per capita expenditure on treatment of health problems in Kanyabeda village is Rs.18, 228 per year.

Table 11: Annualexpenditure on health problems of the sample households

Sl. No.

Annual income Range (Rs in lakhs)

Total Expenditure

(Rs)

Per family expenditure

(Rs)

Per capita expenditure

(Rs)

Percentage from total expenditure

1 Up to 1 365,000 22,812 5,447 5.00

2 1-2 475,000 29,687 7,661 6.51

3 2-3 745,000 93,125 32,391 10.21

4 3-4 1,256,000 89,714 20,590 17.23

5 4-5 685,000 114,166 22,833 9.40

6 5-6 1,345,000 11,2083 32,804 18.46

7 6-7 690,000 86,250 20,909 9.50

8 7-8 800,000 88,888 2,1621 10.97

9 Above 8 930,000 84,545 20,217 12.75

10 Total 7,291,000 72,910 18,228 100.00

Table 12: Compensation received by the sample households of Kanyabedafrom NALCO

Sl. No.

Total no of households

No. Of households compensated by

NALCO

Average Per family

(Rs)

Total (Rs)

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2 1-2 16 7 371,428.57 25,99,996

3 2-3 8 3 366,666.66 10,99,998

4 3-4 14 5 3,000,00.00 15,00,000

5 4-5 6 1 2,000,00.00 2,00,000

6 5-6 12 2 5,000,00.00 10,00,000

7 6-7 8 4 4,000,00.00 16,00,000

8 7-8 9 0 00 00

9 Above 8 11 3 33,333.33 99,999

10 Total 100 31 1,86,451 5,779,991

Problem due to NALCO suffered by the people of Kanyabeda under different income ranges is shown in the Table 13. Maximum number of 65 households pointed out that the main of problem is damage to crops followed by emissions of chemicals and dust.

Table 13: Problems of people due to NALCO in Kanyabeda village (No. of households)

Sl. No.

Annual income range (Rs in lakhs)

Problem due to NALCO Total

1 2 3 4

1 Up to 1 5 2 0 9 16

2 1-2 7 3 1 5 16

3 2-3 2 0 0 6 8

4 3-4 2 1 1 10 14

5 4-5 2 0 0 4 6

6 5-6 0 2 0 10 12

7 6-7 1 1 0 6 8

8 7-8 4 0 0 5 9

9 Above 8 1 0 0 10 11

10 Total 24 9 2 65 100

Codes:

(1) Pollution due to emission of chemical and dust.

(2) Increase in accidents due to heavy vehicles for transportation (3) Leakage of Ash pond.

(4) Damage to crops

5.3. CONCLUSIONS

Suggestions given to the NALCO by the people of Kanyabeda under different income ranges have been summarized as follows:

Most of the households felt that NALCO should provide electricity, free of cost and invest in education of people. Further, NALCO should manage its ash pond leakage properly.

In the samples, 225 family members have suffered from different diseases. As an adverse impact of NALCO on Kanyabeda village, the people experience loss of working days due to morbidity.

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Agricultural productivity is the main backbone of Kanyabeda village. But 52 households emphasized negative impact on agriculture as one of the major issues caused by large scale mining and use of coal, which resulted in decline in fertility of land. Further, decline in rainfall and human health problems have been believed as the negative impact of environmental externality generated by NALCO. As per the sample survey the total annual expenditure of 100 households on health problems is Rs.7,291,000.

Per capita expenditure on treatment of health problems in Kanyabeda village is Rs. 18,225.The sample households have identified four kinds of health problems related to the perceived water pollution. These are loss of hair, stomach irritation, kidney problem and joint pain. 34% of households reported hair loss.

After coming of NALCO there is change in economic condition of the village. As per the sample survey, 99 households have bank accounts which indicates better standard of living of the people. People of higher income groups have benefited from NALCO developmental scheme like housing and providing comfort goods to them. NALCO is providing school one U.P school, junior college (SVM) SwaraswatiVidhyaMandir for the people of the village. However, people of Kanyabeda have emphasized NALCO on provision of free electricity. NALCO is also providing transportation (road) and medical facility to the people. The people are also benefited through NALCO health camp and eye camp which come under peripheral development activity of NALCO. Tube-wells have been established by NALCO for providing safe drinking water to the people. People of Kanyabeda received compensation by NALCO through their land. The main problem is due to damage to crops and leakage of ash ponds. Therefore, NALCO should manage its ash ponds properly.

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