Lafarge’s CSR activities add value to life around the mining area

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SHILLONG, September 11: It was a memorable Teachers’ Day for Laitbah Union Upper Secondary School in Lawbah when the newly constructed school building was inaugurated to great fanfare in the presence of students, teachers and parents. Laitbah Union is now an upper secondary school with 600 pupils starting from kindergarten.
The school principal H Riwan shed tears of joy on this occasion. Addressing parents and students, he said: “This school was started by my (late) father C Chyne in 1985 in the Assam type building covered in CGI sheets because there was a great need for a school here. This whole region is known for its heavy rains and storms. Every time it rains, the teachers have to stop attending classes because of the noise from the roof. When there is a storm, I worry that the roofs will be blown off and the students will have no place to study. We approached the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) committee and they granted us Rs 1.5 crore in 2020. The construction of the school building started in October 2020 and was completed in July 2022,” Riwan said visibly satisfied.
The SPV also provided free uniforms to students at the school. The little children delighted in their new uniforms beamed with pride even as they enthusiastically performed for guests on the occasion. Seeing their classmates in school uniform, students who had dropped out for various reasons now want to be readmitted to school, Riwan said. He also informed that classes have been held in the new school building since September 8. The two-storey school building has facilities for future construction should the need arise. “Having a school in the village is a big help for families who otherwise have to send their children all the way to Mawsynram or Shillong,” Riwan said.
The SPV oversees how funds from the Lafarge Umiam Mining Pvt Ltd compensation payment are used through a subsidiary, the Special Purpose Vehicle Society (SPV-S), as ordered by the Supreme Court in its 2010 order. This after the residents of Nongtrai approached the Supreme Court (continued on P-4)
Lafarge’s CSR activities add value…
(Continued from P-1) and alleged that Lafarge was exploiting a forest area.
The Supreme Court in its decision astutely observed: “In the present case, we are satisfied that limestone extraction has been going on for centuries in the region and that it is an activity closely linked to the culture and single land ownership. It is recognized that the operations will contribute to the growth of the local economy in remote areas.
Lafarge extracts 20 lakh tonnes of cement per year from mines in Nongtrai, East Khasi Hills. The company deposits Rs 90 per ton of limestone extracted. This gives the maximum annual fund flow of Rs 18 crore to the SPV. This amount is used by the SPV-S in collaboration with the local Dorbars to finance social projects entrusted to it, including development activities that revolve around the sectors of health, education, agriculture, of irrigation and general economy in the area around the 50 km mining area solely for the local community and the welfare of the tribals.
Beyond that, Lafarge also undertakes Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in accordance with the provisions of Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013 and its related rules.
The Supreme Court decision specified that the activities of the SPV should be located within a radius of 50 km from the mining area which extends over an area of ​​116 hectares. They include the regions of Nongtrai, Shella, Lawbah, Mawdon up to Mawlangbna and neighboring villages.
The $255 million Lafarge Surma cement project at Chhatak in Bangladesh is entirely dependent on limestone mined from Nongtrai. The limestone is transported by a conveyor belt 17 km long to Chhatak.
In 2014, Lafarge had deposited a sum of around Rs 99.51 crore to the company which is the supreme implementing and coordinating organization for the integrated development of mining affected areas. Activities are wide ranging and include socio-economic, environmental, skills-based and cultural development, infrastructure projects and financial assistance for education, youth development and sports.
Much has been done by the SPV-S to empower women in pig farming by supplementing them with training and providing shared sheds and piglets. The women’s self-help groups have their own contribution by managing recurrent expenses. Subsistence activities include beekeeping, cultivation of citrus fruits including Mandarin Khasi. Recently, the tea garden run by a self-help group in Shella has also started producing tea.
The SPV-S funded roads, trails, water supply facilities and equipment including x-ray machines, beds etc. to primary health centers and sub-health centers were donated . Ambulances were donated to needy villages.
Beyond the amount paid to the SPV, Lafarge deploys its CSR actions which are visible in the community halls and the ultramodern sports stadium.
The SPV-S provided classrooms at Ramakrishna Mission Sohra and helped Mawlangbna Presbyterian School with classrooms for upper secondary sections with furniture.

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