SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN INFRASTRUCTURE

DEVELOPMENT
Rajesh Chouhan
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Abstract: Social responsibilities are very important to understand while planning for
infrastructural development because it will help in the development of the society and the
country as a whole. In this way the development will not be restricted to a person or an
organization but will take place on a large scale reaching common man.

Keywors! Infrastructure Development, Infrastructure Development esponsibilities,
!cological Infrastructure Development, Social esponsibility
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In"rou#"$on! In$a is going through two
different stages at the same time %"ne
showing the bright part of India that is its
rapidly developing infrastructure system
and technology and other side, the dark
part that resides in the core of India,
hidden from the shine and glitter of India.
#e all are well aware of that part which
contains poverty, unemployment,
miserable life of villagers etc.
In&ras"ru#"ure may be defined as the
physical and organizational structures
needed for the proper functioning of a
society or enterprise for e$ample roads,
bridges, telecommunication, and electrical
grids etc. It is impossible even to think
about life and society without
infrastructure and nowadays it works as a
scale to measure country%s development.
&herefore, it is very important to give
great emphasis on infrastructure
development if we want to maintain our
self in the league of developing and
developed countries
'ut in today%s scenario, in the never
ending race of development
(infrastructure) we are leaving behind our
social ethics and responsibilities without
which we may achieve fast development
but that%s not going to last very long.
In countries like India we need to
understand where we lack, there are the
problems like poverty, employable skill
generation, health sector etc. which can be
tackled to a great e$tent if we understand
the social responsibilities in infrastructure
development
In last few years, India has shown a great
advancement in infrastructure
development. In year, *++, infrastructure
contributed only -.. / to 0.D.1. and now
it contributes about 22/ and in future the
contribution of the infrastructure to our
0D1 is going to increase from here on.
'ut will that make India a better place for
the common man3 &hat is the real
4uestion we need to answer. 'ut if we
merge the concept of social
responsibilities with infrastructure
development, it will definitely help us to
gain something that we deserve for better
living.
Poss$'(y) $" *ay s(ow own "he ra"e o&
e+e(o,*en" o& $n&ras"ru#"ure 'u" $"
w$(( *a-e "he e+e(o,*en" so#$a( an
sus"a$na'(e $n a(( res,e#"s
Me"hoo(o.y!
So#$a( res,ons$'$($"y means those
activities which an individual or an
organization does as a part of society for
welfare of society and its people.
Ty,es o& So#$a( Res,ons$'$($"$es $n
In&ras"ru#"ure De+e(o,*en"
2) Re(a"e "o /ea("h0 5ortality rate
in India is much higher in
comparison to countries like
6.S.A due to poor health
facilities .Infrastructure that may
be private or public should not
only help a person or an
organization to attain ma$imum
profit but also help a common man
to have better health facilities. 7or
instance, companies like Re($an#e
ha+e o,ene *any #o**un$"y
hea("h #en"ers an $n$"$a"e
,ro.ra*s ($-e 1DRIS/TI2 w$"h
Na"$ona( Asso#$a"$on o& B($ns%
&hese types of activities are only
possible if people think beyond
their own benefits and work for
self8actualization. 5any other
companies like A.9.9, :.&.1.9.
have opened community health
centers where poor people can get
free treatment and live a healthy
life. A 1rivate ; 1ublic <ealth
5odel must originate out of these
infrastructure development works.
*) Re(a"e "o Eu#a"$on0 India is
not lacking in people who want to
learn but lacking in resources
needed for educating people. A
person below poverty line hardly
earns enough money to meet his
daily re4uirements. #henever
there is installment of any new
infrastructure, it creates an
opportunity of employment for
skilled as well as unskilled labour.
<owever, as a social responsibility
the organization working on that
plant (infrastructure) should try to
provide free education to the
children of poor families of nearby
area to benefit the society as a
whole. 5any organizations like
A.9.9 'armana and :&19
=oldam etc. have come forward
considering this as their social
responsibility. O"her #o*,an$es
($-e P34 ha+e he(,e "o *a-e
"he ($+es o& *ore "han 5 *$(($on
#h$(ren 'e""er 'y .$+$n. a ,ar"
o& "he$r ,ro&$" &or ,ro+$$n.
eu#a"$on "o #h$(ren. It%s the
most important social
responsibility that any
organization should consider and
act upon while working for
infrastructural development.
>) Re(a"e "o En+$ron*en"
Preser+a"$on0 !nvironment has
always given us what we wanted,
directly or indirectly and that is
why as a (aw o& .$+e an "a-e $n
hu*an wor( we nee "o .$+e
'a#- so*e"h$n. "o "he
en+$ron*en" an "ha" so*e"h$n.
$s 1Preser+a"$on2% It is self8
evident that if we keep on
destroying our environment and
ignoring its preservation soon we
will be left with nothing in the
name of environment. It%s not the
environment that is changing and
causing problems like &sunami
and 0lobal #arming but we are
forcing it to change it. A dam is
must because we are a power
starved nation, but that must not
be built at the e$pense of local
populace and wildlife. All we
need to do is to understand our
social responsibility toward
environment while developing
infrastructure. <ard steps must be
taken to avoid any infrastructure
activity to avoid any long8term
effects on environment. 7or
instance, the <imachal <igh 9ourt
4uashed the construction of a
cement factory in the Sundernagar
region of <imachal 1radesh solely
on the environmentalist grounds.
.) Re(a"e "o Sus"a$na'(e Use o&
Resour#es0 #ith our limited
resources, we need to use our
resources efficiently. A great
writer said that ?we ha+en6" .o"
"h$s ear"h &ro* our an#es"ors
'u" we ha+e 'orrowe $" &ro*
our &u"ure .enera"$on2% So we
need to keep in mind that we have
to pass it to them, while planning
and actuating infrastructure
development there will be a great
use of resources and we can%t
refuse or restrict ourselves for not
using them. #e have to use them
in a sustainable way. #e have
already made many species of
animals and plants e$tinct, many
of our fossil fuels rare, and many
of them are on the verge of getting
e$tinct so we need to take this
seriously before it is too late. &he
goal of sustainable use of
resources can be achieved by
following some simple points as
follow8
&he policy of (educe,
euse, ecycle) must be kept in
mind while planning infrastructure
development
Advanced technologies like
geopolymer, hollow concrete
blocks must be used in
construction which will eventually
reduce the cost and time of
construction and will save material
1reservation and proper utilization
of all our natural resources
A fair communication system
between 0ovt. bodies and
common people
!4ual and fair distribution of
income
9ontribute in research and
development
&o make 9.S. a key business
process for sustainable
development
ACKNO7LED4MENT
0uidance of 1rof.@ Sharma, Director8
cum81rincipal, S1 0uleria, <"D, 9ivil
!ngineering A &arun 0oel, Assistant
1rofessor, 9ivil !ngineering and every
assistance of the Administration of the
B:0!9, Sundernagar are gratefully
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
C2D 55&9 @td., 9S 1olicy
Available:
8http:EEmmtclimited.gov.inEpagesEgenpdfEF
G8corporate8social8responsibility
C*D 0uidelines for developing eco8
efficient and socially inclusive
infrastructure
Available:
www.unescap.orgEesdEenvironmentEinfraE
documentsE0uidelines
C>D Caroline Van Zile India%s 5andatory
9orporate Social esponsibility 1roposalH
Available:
blog.hawaii.eduEaplpIEfilesE*+2*E+,EA1@1BJ2>.
*JKanLile.pdf
M M M
'.&ech. >rd Near, 9ivil !ngineering,
Bawaharlal :ehru 0overnment !ngineering 9ollege,
Sundernagar (<1)
aIeshchauhan.>*2GG*Ogmail.com