The Other Side of Development: A Case Study of ACC Cement Factory in Himachal Pradesh (India)

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1 The Other Side of Development: A Case Study of ACC Cement Factory in Himachal Pradesh (India) Mohinder Slariya* *Researcher is presently working as Sr. Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Govt. PG College, Chamba (HP). Present paper is based on the findings of the empirical study entitled, Industrialization and Environment A Sociological Study, conducted by the researcher. Human beings are the unique product of their creation and evolution. In contrast to all other forms of animal life, the highly developed nervous system differentiates man from the rest of creatures. Man s desire to know about their world has led them from primitive superstition to modern scientific knowledge. It is a naked truth that man cannot survive alone. He has some basic pre requisites of survival, which must be fulfilled. Man requires in addition to the basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing, the source for entertainment and social cooperation. He cannot meet any need in absence of his fellow beings. Every need of man is fulfilled by the nature by giving him food, shelter and clothing to a sizeable extend and every thing to a greater extend. With the passage of time his needs and demands have increased to manifolds. Nature has made everything available to man in form of raw material. Distribution and availability of these resources depends on nature s own principle. Resources are there for utilization in form of free gifts of nature and came within the limits of human action. In modern time the importance of resources has increased manifold. Man feels handicapped in absence of these. The 1

2 demands of increasing population can be met only by exploiting these resources with a skilful administration (Dhawan et al, 2005). The present paper is an attempt of the researcher to highlight the Other Side of the ACC Barmana Cement Factory. It is based on the findings of the empirical study entitled, Industrialization and Environment A sociological Study, which is a Case Study of ACC Barmana Cement Factory, conducted by the researcher. The relationship between this developmental activity, environment and unanswered question, this prosperity and development at what cost? will be the main focus of this presentation. Associated Cement Company has established second most planned and advanced cement factory at Barmana in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, after the installation of first cement factory of Cement Corporation of India Ltd. at Paonta Sahib in Sirmour district. Both cement plants have been established after intensive investigation and exploration of the limestone, by Geological Wing of Industry Department of Himachal Pradesh in The first mining lease for limestone was granted to Cement Corporation of India Ltd. in 1964 at Paonta Sahib in Sirmour district having estimated reserves of 110 million tones. The second mining lease was granted to Associated Cement Company in 1971 at Barmana in Bilaspur district. It is estimated that this area has approximate 150 million tones of limestone deposits. This cement plant came into existence in 1980 with the productive capacity of 600 tones per day, capable to meet the annual cement demand of northern region of the country. 2

3 In order to see the impact of this cement factory at micro level, the most affected five villages (Barmana, Dhamkoti, Panjgawin, Taral and Salapar situated in semi circle form have been chosen by the researcher. Out of 300 (approximately) affected households 60 households have selected randomly by using Simple Random Sampling Method. The nature of study is exploratory, aiming to explore relationship between industrial development and environmental conditions of the area at micro level. Interview schedule contained both type of close and open ended questions including the variables such as age, sex, socio economic characteristic, impact on physical and non material environment and welfare works done by the management. This empirical study reflects into three following aspects; one; after the establishment of the factory a big and good part of village land has been acquired by the owner of the factory, two; new economic opportunities have been created in the term of jobs in factory, boost to local economy and factory s participation in developmental activities, three; a new category of people, the immigrants have been added to village population which positively and negatively affects the locality. There is a very big difference between the existing environmental conditions and the environmental conditions prior to the establishment of this cement factory. Prior to the establishment of this cement factory there was a thick forest cover of local trees and bushes, which was the backbone of the economy of this poor area. There was also very fertile land at factory site and in the surrounding 3

4 area, some land has been acquired by the factory for infrastructutal development and rest of land become barren after the coming up of the factory. But with the coming up of the factory all the trees and bushes have been cut down and the fertile land converted into barren land, which has given rise to many problems like, the problem of soil erosion, clean air, fuel wood, fodder economic disturbances etc. are very to count. Land has been acquired and people forced to migrate to other district as well as to other state. Cement factory has given rise to the problems of air, water and sound pollution at the factory site, presently which is responsible to a number of diseases i.e. sore eyes, breathing kidney and gal bladder stone, allergic reactions, TB, impaired hearing, etc. people are compelled to go either to Shimla or PGI Chandigarh for the treatment and paying huge cost of this development in the region. People are compelled to leave their houses because of the dust from chimneys and blasting which negatively affecting the productivity of land, further it led people to change land using pattern. The burning of coal to run the factory has adversely affected climatic conditions of the area. Moreover the problem of housing for the outside workers led to the problem of slum formation. In slum the problem of low standard of living, ill health has been observed. The local believes that the immigrants came with number of diseases, which latterly spread in all over the locality. It has been observed that the establishment of cement factory has adversely been affected the traditional social structure, inter caste relationship and cultural pattern of the area, initially it was very rigid 4

5 but after the establishment of the factory the whole scenario has changed. The underground blasts at blasting sites of the factory are sufficient to create any havoc in the region. The area situated near Slaper at the same foothill where on Sutluj and Beas Rivers Kol Dam and Dehar Hydro Electric Power Projects are under construction. It is just 20 Kms far from Govind Sagar Lake. Presently cracks due to blasting in the houses and in the slopes of the foothill can be seen. It is very strange that the Indians, who worshipped the rivers, trees and earth, are unwillingly destroying the Mother Nature to great extend. For centuries we have used our natural resources judiciously without harming nature, but presently by excessive exploitation man is destroying these resources beyond repair. No doubt it is bringing prosperity to the nation but at local level people are adversely being affected by these developmental activities. Like other developmental activities it is also based on the proverb the local pain for the nation gain. Undoubtly industrial development is the need of the hour and backbone of the progress of any country, but at the same time these developmental activities at what cost? It should not be at the cost of life and ecology of the region. We have to mend our mistakes well in time by stopping such type of developmental activities to save the existence of this lower Himalayan region by adopting human and eco friendly technologies in our alldevelopmental efforts. Development should be for man; man should not be for the development. 5

6 References: Dhawan, S.K.et al. (2005), Environmental Studies, Bansal Book Depot, Shimla. Geological Wing of Industry Department of Himachal Pradesh (1962). Roy, Arundhati (1999), The Greater Common Good, Distributors Ltd., Bombay. India Book 6