Issue III

newsletter

5th Oct 2013

The Boon Called Companies BiIl

A big leap in the world of CSR
The new Companies Bill that was passed recently will turn out to bring a big leap in the world of CSR. The bill proposes that all companies of a certain size have to mandatorily spend 2% of their three year average profit

By V. Nishanth Shouri

strategic decisions to improve society. One way in which this can create a huge level of change is to initially concentrate on 2 or 3 focus areas. For example, take malnutrition or education. Even though India is considered as an emerging economy, the gap between the poor and rich are growing day by day. The poor lack basic amenities which determine the standard of living. Good access to health and basic education will improve the status of our country. This focus on primary issues and making a strategic roadmap to improve the lives of millions will be game changer for Indian Society. We can just hope with earnest desire that this

towards CSR. India is one of the first nations to make

mandatory social welfare spending as part of company statute by law. Nearly 8000 companies are in line to become the impact creators. The total estimated amount to be given out for this act will be anywhere between 12000 to 15000 crores. The main idea is to consider social spending by organizations run by strategy. The decisions of this spending have a huge impact on their bottom lines. Hence, it is imperative that companies start taking

law will be implemented effectively and efficiently.

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newsletter
Facing Our Inner Mirror
By Prof. Sanjeeb Kakoty
Probably I came across this quote when I was in the IV standard , it has remained etched in my memory

5th October 2013 Issue III

This was one of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought. It is a very clear indication of his belief that it is not possible to separate the individual from the society. He also enjoins the duty of each individual member of society to achieve collective good while working for self development. These two issues are not mutually exclusive and hence there is no scope for any conflict between individual goal and social good. This philosophy stands in sharp contrast to the un-

since: "Generations to come, it may well be, will

scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth It was the great scientist Einstein talking about Gandhi and came as a strong unambiguous corroboration to the lore of the Mahamanab Gandhiji, that I imbibed in the lap of a family that lived and breathed Gandhianism.

Pray, what was this Gandhianism all about? Perhaps

the answer can be found in a famous quote by Gandhi himself: "I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to

bridled greed that has been unleashed through the celebration of supposed individualism through wanton consumerism. But what is the way forward? Maybe, the answer lies within all of us. Take a moment, take a deep breath, celebrate a moment of silence and ponder what Gandhi said: Man is the maker of his own destiny in the sense that he has the freedom of choice as to the manner in which he uses his freedom. But he is no controller of results. He added to good measure that True morality consists, not in following the beaten track, but in finding out the true path for ourselves and in fearlessly following it.

him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it

restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."

newsletter Wiser Together

The Story of a revolutionary village
Twenty five years of patient struggle ended up in success and Mendha became the first village in India to be given the community forest rights under For-

5th October 2013 Issue III

By Rutwik Phatak

(around 500 individuals) had developed a unique system of self-governance. It refused to follow the conventional Panchayat system where one Sarpanch was

est Rights Act of 2006 in April 2011. This meant

that the tribal villagers would be entitled to a portion of the forest for their livelihood. Like many other acts the act previous to FRA also dated back to the pre-independence era. The British constituted the Indian Forest Act in 1927 to officially declare the entire forest reserves in the country as government property and thereby suppress the rebellion tribal groups. The FRA of 2006 recognized the fact that different tribes, popularly known as Adiwasi, were

elected who controlled most of the things; instead

they formed what is known as Gram-Sabha. Every adult villager was a member of the Gram-Sabha and all the decisions were made by consensus. In fact, when I first visited the village in 2012 I noticed a banner on the Gram-Sabha hall that had two lines on it meaning Our government is in Mumbai and Delhi; all of us are the government within our village. All during my stay later I discovered that they really meant it. If you go to any common village in the country you will definitely find a meeting place where the elderly people will gather for informal chat. Most of the times it is trivial something like recent happenings in the neighborhoods, good news, bad news and gossips thats it! Ratnakar came to call me early in the morning for a meeting. All the aged villagers, including women, had gathered at a common-place to discuss something over a cup of tea. To my surprise, the topic of discussion was how to develop bamboo nurseries in the village. The discussion went on for about an hour till everybody left for work after every single person had put forth their ideas. The beauty of the discussion was that everyone was equally interested and listened patiently to others. That is why no matter how immature his/her idea may be nobody was afraid of making his/her point. A similar gathering took place just after the lunch when even the young were involved. Two of government offi-

heavily dependent on resources of forest origin for

several generations. More importantly, it acknowledged that the tribal people had a natural sense of sustainability while using the resources therefore they are better able to take care of the forest. However, due to internal corruption it took another 5 years of struggle from the villagers side just to get the law implemented. Another important change was reclassifying bamboo as a grass (earlier it was classified into timber). This meant bamboo was now

considered a minor forest produce. The villagers of

Mendha (Lekha) village were legally permitted to harvest bamboo, honey, Tendu-Patta, Chiraunji and other minor forest produce from a specific area of the forest. The ball was in the villagers court now. They were given the rights and now they had to make the best out of it. The people of Mendha had evolved as a wise people over generations. This village of 105 families

newsletter

5th October 2013 Issue III

cials had come to discuss about Indira Aawas Yojana. After they explained the scheme completely one of the villagers said, We discussed this among ourselves in a meeting earlier; why dont you identify all beneficiaries and deposit the total aid with Gram-Sabha! Another

The villagers have made incredible progress in the last 2 years only because of their collective intelligence. In the last month, the villagers took a revolutionary step by gifting their individual farm-lands to the GramSabha. This village has certainly created an example in

villager added, Since you give only one lakh rupees per
house, the Gram-Sabha will add some more amount to it so that we dont have to compromise on quality. We will ensure that all houses are built together without any delay. From building houses to skill development programs to qualifying tenders for selling bamboo; every single decision in this village is made by unanimous consent of the people. This is clearly the reason behind the success of this village.

management of common-pool resources. The culture

of thinking together is inculcated so well in the society. In the last season the Gram-Sabha earned revenues amounting to more than 1 crore rupees only through efficient use of resources. More importantly, this money is being invested back in conservation of the forest. This village exemplifies how welfare of all could be achieved through truly sustainable development by making all the stakeholders party to the decision making process.

ECoBiZ Club Faculty Co-ordinator : Dr Natalie West Kharkongor Members : Ernesto Dhileeban Hriday Bikash Das Jeremy Simon Nongrum Prasanthi Bitrakanti Rutwik Phatak : 8974115744 / 8974055542 : ecobiz@iimshillong.in ecobiz.iims@gmail.com Our Mission Promoting, practicing, studying, commenting on & communicating about sustainable business & social practices for the development of the society.

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