Tata’s(#tatagroup) surely knows that they practise a inferior and regressive style of management. Nobody needs to educate them that their top down leadership cannot connect with people at the bottom of the pyramid. That makes their case even more unforgivable.
I am taking this opportunity to welcome you to check my blog on Tata Group, also posted here on mouthshut.com https://mouthshut.com/blog/dcegmmsllm/Tata-Group
Controversies, and Environmental record:
Despite their public commitment to philanthropy the Tata group has attracted several controversies.
Here are some:
==Munnar, Kerala
==
The Kerala Government had filed an affidavit in the high court saying that Tata Tea had’grabbed’ forest land of 3, 000 acres(12 km2) at Munnar. The Tatas, on the other hand, say they possess 58, 741.82 acres(237.7197 km2) of land, which they are allowed to retain under the Kannan Devan Hill(Resumption of Lands) Act, 1971, and there is a shortage of 278.23 hectares in that. Ex.Chief Minister of Kerala V.S. Achuthanandan, who vowed to evict all government land in Munnar formed a special squad for the Munnar land takeover mission. However, later he had to abort the mission as there were many other influential land grabbers and faced opposition from his own party.
==Kalinganagar, Orissa
==
On 2 January 2006, policemen at Kalinganagar, Orissa, opened fire at a crowd of tribal villagers. The villagers were protesting the construction of a compound wall on land historically owned by them, for a Tata steel plant. Some of the corpses were returned to the families in a mutilated condition. When pushed for comment, TATA officials said the incident was unfortunate but that it would continue with its plans to set up the plant.[25]
==Dow Chemical, Bhopal Gas Disaster
==
In November 2006, survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster were outraged by Ratan Tata’s offer to bail out Union Carbide and facilitate investments by Carbide’s new owner Dow Chemical. Tata had proposed leading a charitable effort to clean-up the toxic wastes abandoned by Carbide in Bhopal. At a time when the Government of India has held Dow Chemical liable for the clean-up and requested Rs. 100 crores from the American MNC, survivor’s groups felt that Tata’s offer was aimed at frustrating legal efforts to hold the company liable, and motivated by a desire to facilitate Dow’s investments in India.[26]
==Supplies to Burma’s military regime
==
Tata Motors reported deals to supply hardware and automobiles to Burma’s oppressive and anti-democratic military junta has come in for criticism from human rights and democracy activists. In December 2006, Gen. Thura Shwe Mann, Myanmar’s chief of general staff visited the Tata Motors plant in Pune.In 2009, TATA Motors announced that it would press ahead with plans to manufacture trucks in Myanmar.
==Land acquisition in Singur
==
The Singur controversy[30] in West Bengal led to further questions over Tata’s social record, with protests by locals and political parties(though the involvement of Mamata Banerjee’s party is widely criticized as an act for political gains) over the forced acquisition, eviction and inadequate compensation to those farmers displaced for the Tata Nano plant. As the protests grew, and despite having the support of the Communist Party of India(Marxist) state government, Tata eventually pulled the project out of West Bengal, citing safety concerns. The Singur controversy was one of the few occasions when Ratan Tata was forced to publicly address criticisms and concerns on any environmental or social issue. Ratan Tata subsequently embraced Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, who quickly made land available for the Nano project.[31]
Dhamra Port
On the environmental front, the Port of Dhamara controversy has received significant coverage, both within India and in Tata’s emerging global markets.
The Dhamra port, a venture between Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro, has come in for criticism for its proximity to the Gahirmatha Sanctuary and Bhitarkanika National Park, from Indian and international organisations, including Greenpeace. Gahirmatha Beach is one of the world’s largest mass nesting sites for the Olive Ridley Turtle and Bhitarkanika is a designated Ramsar site and India’s second largest mangrove forest. TATA officials have denied that the port poses an ecological threat, and stated that mitigation measures are being employed with the advice of the IUCN. On the other hand, conservation organisations, including Greenpeace, have pointed out that no proper Environment Impact Analysis has been done for the project, which has undergone changes in size and specifications since it was first proposed and that the port could interfere with mass nesting at the Gahirmtha beaches and the ecology of the Bitharkanika mangrove forest.
Protests by Greenpeace to Dhamra Port construction is also alleged to be less on factual data and more on hype and DPCL’s(Dhamra Port Company Limited) response to Greenpeace questions harbours on these facts.
==Soda extraction plant in Tanzania
==
Tata group, along with a Tanzanian company, joined forces to build a soda ash extraction plant in Tanzania.
The Tanzanian government is all for the project. On the other hand, environmental activists are opposing the plant because it would be near Lake Natron, and it could possibly affect the lake’s ecosystem and its neighbouring dwellers.
Tata was planning to change the site of the plant so it would be built 32 km from the lake, but the opposition still thinks it would negatively disturb the environment. It could also jeopardise the Lesser Flamingo birds there, which are already endangered. Lake Natron is where two thirds of Lesser Flamingos reproduce. Producing soda ash involves drawing out salt water from the lake, and then disposing the water back to the lake. This process could interrupt the chemical make up of the lake.
Twenty-two African nations are against the creation of the project and have signed a petition to stop its construction.