Gonda,Barabanki are new hotspots for SAIL’s social initiatives

In recent months,the two PSUs have undertaken a series of activities to promote education,water infrastructure,solar street-lights and to provide flood relief in the two districts.

Verma,who hails from Sirauli village in Barabanki,was once a trusted aide of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav but started drifting away. The Congress,which needed a Kurmi leader,welcomed him in its fold and fielded him from Gonda in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

In last January,he was made Minister of State for Steel with independent charge. In the reshuffle held in July,he became a full-fledged cabinet minister.

Soon,SAIL and RINL realised that they had a corporate social responsibility towards Gonda and Barabanki. Both companies have planned three industrial training institutes in Uttar Pradesh.

While SAIL has taken up the responsibility to set up an ITI in Gonda,RINL will set up one in Barabanki. SAIL will also set up an ITI in Jagdishpur,which is in Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Amethi.

SAIL is also distributing food and clothes in flood-affected areas of UP — the target is to distribute about 4,000 packets containing food items and clothing in Barabanki,Gonda and Bahraich.

Another activity is installation of hand-pumps to supply clean drinking water in villages. Again,Barabanki and Gonda are on top of the list. As many as 500 hand-pumps will be installed in Barabanki,about 250 in Gonda and about 100 in Balrampur district of eastern UP.

When it came to installation of solar-street lights,SAIL found Barabanki and Gonda to be most suitable and needy. The target is about 400 solar street lights in Barabanki and about 200 in Gonda.

SAIL will also construct additional classrooms in 25 schools in Barabanki and eight in Gonda. In addition,a community hall is planned in Gonda,and a boy’s hostel in Barabanki.

When asked about SAIL’s sudden interest in the two districts,an officer said: “The scale at which we are taking up the initiatives here might have increased recently,but we used to take up such social activities across UP in the past as well.”

Verma sees nothing wrong in the PSUs concentrating on Gonda and Barabanki. “The ministry plans such projects worth about a hundred crores across the country. What is the harm if a few crores are spent for the betterment of the people in my areas? I am proud of this,I have not done anything illegal. These initiatives are for the people”,he said.

Besides the CSR activities,SAIL is in the process of setting up two steel processing units in the state for thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) bars,one of which will be in Barabanki. For the other,land in Lakhimpur district has been identified. Of the four rollings mills for TMT bars being planned in the state in association with conversion agents,one will be in Gonda; the other three will be in Mirzapur,Hardoi and Jhansi.

Before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections,SAIL had taken over the sick Malvika steel unit in Jagdishpur. Work is going on for its modernisation.