Response of the Corporate Sector to the Gujarat Earthquake 2001 B
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
International Labour CRISIS Offi ce InFocus Programme InFocus Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction on Crisis Response and Reconstruction CRISIS (IFP/CRISIS) RESPONSE OF THE CORPORATE SECTOR TO THE GUJARAT EARTHQUAKE 2001 B. B. PATEL R. ALAGH International Labour Offi ce InFocus Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction 4, route des Morillons CH-1211 Geneva 22 Switzerland Tel. +41 22 799 7069 Fax +41 22 799 6189 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.ilo.org/crisis Recovery and Reconstruction Department Geneva, September 2003 ISBN : 92-2-114853-X INFOCUS PROGRAMME ON CRISIS RESPONSE AND RECONSTRUCTION Response of the Corporate Sector to the Gujarat Earthquake of 2001 B.B. Patel and R. Alagh Recovery and Reconstruction Department International Labour Office Geneva September 2003 Copyright © International Labour Organization 2003 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to the Publications Bureau (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered in the United Kingdom with the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP [Fax: (+44) (0)20 7631 5500; email: [email protected]], in the United States with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 [Fax: (+1) (978) 750 4470; email: [email protected]] or in other countries with associated Reproduction Rights Organizations, may make photocopies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. ISBN 92-2-114853-X First published 2003 The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. ILO publications can be obtained through major booksellers or ILO local offices in many countries, or direct from ILO Publications, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Catalogues or lists of new publications are available free of charge from the above address, or by email: [email protected] Visit our website: www.ilo.org/publns Printed by the International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland ii Preface On behalf of the ILO, the InFocus Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction has been involved with the work of the Global Compact, an initiative of the UN Secretary General to involve the corporate sector in development activities. In the course of this involvement, the need for a detailed study of the corporate response to the Gujarat earthquake became obvious. This was a major natural disaster and the ILO was already involved in the reconstruction effort with the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). The Programme was fortunate in being able to secure the services of two national experts, Professor B. B. Patel and Mrs. Raksha Alagh to undertake a special study. While the role of the corporate sector in responding to situations of armed conflict has been discussed at length in the literature, their role in the aftermath of natural disasters has received relatively little attention in terms of studies and analyses. A notable exception is the work of John Twigg and his associates at the Benfield Hazard Research Centre at University College in London. One of their papers of particular interest is that of Mahesh R Bhatt on “Corporate Social Responsibility and Natural Disaster Reduction: Local Overview of Gujarat.” Several important conclusions emerge from this study. While several highly innovative model schemes for involving the corporate sector in reconstruction were developed, these should have been developed first in a generic form and discussed more thoroughly with the corporate sector and other actors well in advance. Given that natural disasters tend to happen relatively frequently in India, a standing arrangement with the corporate sector appears desirable. Again the assumption that the disaster victims would be willing to accept relocation to a different site needs to be reassessed. Considerable evidence from many parts of the world suggests that there is a strong preference for in situ reconstruction. The study also points to the problems corporate actors face in working with villagers, who are themselves divided by social, economic and other factors. The management style of large enterprises has to be adapted to the complex situations that obtain at the local level. Another concern is that corporate partners in reconstruction may not stress the use of local labour materials, unless this is stipulated in the agreements. In general, the study suggest great initial enthusiasm on the part of all the actors involved, but some withdrawal by the corporate sector, once the initial euphoria was over. The collection of information was completed by November 2001 and hence the study focuses on the immediate response. It was not possible to continue the study beyond this date and it may be worth doing a retrospective analysis of the entire experience, perhaps after another couple of years. The design of the study was developed by two of my colleagues, Janine Rodgers and J Krishnamurty, who also contributed comments and suggestions to successive drafts of the study report. I would like to express my gratitude to them. The ILO New Delhi Office facilitated the study and thanks are due to them and Ms Usha Tankha, who edited and revised the manuscript for publication. Eugenia Date-Bah Director, InFocus Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction, International Labour Office, 4, route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. iii Table of Contents Preface............................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vii 1. Background and response to the Gujarat earthquake ............................................................... 1 2. Public-private partnership for reconstruction of houses......................................................... 13 3. Corporate response: The initial positive phase....................................................................... 25 4. Corporate response: Setbacks and withdrawals...................................................................... 43 5. Summary and conclusions...................................................................................................... 49 Appendix A. Village visits/meetings during 4-7 June 2001.......................................................... 56 Appendix B. Detailed guidelines for the public-private partnership scheme for total rehabilitation of earthquake-affected villages prepared by the state government ... 57 Appendix C. FICCI-CARE Gujarat rehabilitation project interventions in Kutch (Nov. 2001)... 61 Tables ............................................................................................................................................ 67 References ..................................................................................................................................... 75 v Acknowledgements We thank Dr. Janine Rodgers and Dr. J. Krishnamurty of IFP/CRISIS for their detailed comments and suggestions and the International Labour Office, Geneva for the financial support to carry out the study. However, the views expressed in the report are the authors’ responsibility. The information contained in this report relates to the situation in late 2001. We are grateful to Dr. Y. K. Alagh, Chairman, Advisory Committee, Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA), Government of Gujarat. We are also grateful to Shri Anil Shah, Chairman Development Support Centre (DSC), Ahmedabad and Member, Advisory Committee under GSDMA; Dr.Sudarshan Iyengar, Director, Gujarat Institute of Development Research; Dr. Shivanand, Director, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad; Shri M. Sahu, Additional Chief Executive Officer (CEO); Mr. Panirvell IAS, Additional Chief Executive Officer (CEO); and Shri Arvind Joshi, Director, GSDMA for their kind support and help. We received valuable support for this work from Shri Ashok Bhatt, Minister, Government of Gujarat and formerly in charge of coordination of NGOs in Relief and Rehabilitation after the earthquake. We also received support from Shri Sanjay Prasad, IAS, Labour Commissioner, Gujarat State. We would like to acknowledge the secretarial, research and computer support of Shri Keyur Mankodi, Shri Nainesh Desai, Shri