Dalmia Bharat Strengthens Nation Building Commitment through Investments in Jharkhand
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited, a leading Indian cement major and a subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat Limited, is making significant investments in Jharkhand and is thereby further strengthening its commitment to nation building. With a company philosopy of inclusive development and growth, the company has also partnered with 16 villages and six Gram Panchayats in Bokaro to drive its numerous social and climate action initiatives that are positively impacting 20,000 lives across the state.
In line with the recently signed Memoradums of Understanding with the Government of Jharkhand, the overall investment will be to the tune of INR 758 Crores. This includes setting up a grinding unit in Bokaro with an investment of INR 567 crore to add capacity of 2.6 MTPA which will take the overall capacity of the unit to 6.3 MTPA. Furthering the company’s sustainability objectives of reducing the carbon footprint, the investment also includes INR 250 crore to establish a solar power plant and INR 8 crore to set up Material Recover Facility and Legacy waste-Bio Mining activity for solid waste management under Ranchi Municipal Corporation.
Commenting on the company’s commitment to nation building through its investment in Jharkhand, Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director, Dalmia Bharat Limited, said, “As we are further investing in the East market to participate in its economic growth story, we are also taking our responsibility as a corporate seriously by placing the utmost importance to environmental protection and social impact. We are confident that the employment generated through our investments and the skill enhancement in our social initiatives will help create a progressive ecosystem where we help people become independent and self-sufficient. We are excited and look forward to partnering with the state to achieve our business, social and sustainability goals.”
While the company is gearing up for the imminent launch of its Bokaro plant – to be inaugurated by Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren– it is also addressing some pressing environmental and social challenges such as climate action, livelihood generation, job skill training and social development.
Commenting on the Bokaro investment and community initiatives, Mahendra Singhi, MD and CEO of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd., said, “Our continued industrial and social endeavours in Jharkhand is seeing fruitition with the continuous support from the Government and Bokaro community. We are grateful and will continue to contribute to India’s growth story with our environment-friendly infrastructure, clean energy and water initiatives as well as CSR efforts. He further added, “On the business front, the commissioning of the Bokaro unit in the region is a key milestone as the company has embarked on a larger journey of increasing its cement manufacturing capacity from 33 million tonnes currently to reaching 48.5million tonnes by 2024.”
The Inclusive Development & Growth strategy of the company has enabled it to make more focused interventions in identified domains for the larger benefit of communities. Some of the initiatives that the company continues to drive in Bokaro are:
COVID Prevention and Vaccination Initiatives: by contributing Rs. 60 lacs to the CM Relief fund to help in Covid prevention and organised a Covid Vaccination drive for communities and employees. Today, Bokaro unit is 100% vaccinated unit.
Water Positive CSR: through its rainwater harvesting initiatives, Dalmia Bharat Ltd. helps enhance the capacity of 13 existing village ponds and conserved 1.72cr K litres of water annually. The company made dried wells usable through desilting, raised ground water level up by almost 100 percent and constructed check dams. This has benefitted 11,000 people.
Energy Conservation and green initiatives: Over 5,000 Timber saplings have also been planted in 15 villages. The company has installed 982 LED street lights in 14 villages.
Livelihood generation: by empowering almost 500 women by providing skill training in Goatery, Mushroom cultivation, broom-making, Soft toy, Beautician courses, tailoring etc.
Skill training: by providing digital literacy to 500 school students and workers in 2019-20.
Social infrastructure development and hygiene: by constructing/renovating six wells, installing toilet blocks and supporting schools.
The company renovated three Anganwadis, initiated Building as Learning Aids (BaLA) and installed 72 CCTV, worth Rs 57 lacs and provided support to three Police stations. This has benefitted 5000 villagers in 24 villages.
