CB BureauIn an effort to win people’s confidence in order to streamline business, Coal India (CIL) will focus more on its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.
India’s biggest coal producer believes that inability to develop stakeholders’ interests led to problems in land acquisition in ‘no-go zones’, and pending environment clearances have cost it over 16 million tonnes of coal in the current fiscal.
In a statement to the media, NC Jha, chairman, Coal India, said, ‘Zero growth last year and the not-so-impressive growth this year points out to the fact that something more needs to be done in terms of environment, CSR and our initiatives of work.’
‘Coal India needs land on a continuous basis as a raw material. So, the basic thrust is to get land. How do we get land unless we win the confidence of people in the coal-bearing area? For that, certain initiatives need to be taken such that people give us land, and these will include CSR and environment responsibilities,’ added Jha.
The company has set aside five per cent of its retained profit for CSR activities. On the operational front, it also plans to use foreign technology for greater access to coal.
Considering that the norms are getting stricter for the mining industry, sustainable business initiatives are a must for Coal India and it will have to balance environmental responsibilities with the interests of business stakeholders.