First impressions of the bhel bhopal township are anything but encouraging. but as Manish K. Pandey delves into the details, he finds that bhel could well be on its way to bringing back the good old days
It was a cold winter morning in the capital, foggy like any other. Though I somehow managed to reach the New Delhi Railway Station on time, it took me a while to board my train to Bhopal, as I had to cross several platforms on the way. And by the time I could settle down in the train, it was the onset of dawn. The sun was rising and so was a brisk wind that every now and then blew its way through the still dark station. However, I was quite warm inside the train, as it grudgingly commenced its journey towards the city of mosques and lakes … and of course, home to one of the most well known Navratna PSUs – the mother plant of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India in the energy-related and infrastructure sector.
The train was still in the outskirts of Delhi and the middle-aged, smartly dressed gentleman sitting beside me had already introduced himself. His name was Shyam Bora. Call it my sheer luck or a plain coincidence, he turned out to be a supplier of raw materials (for the last 30 odd years) to BHEL!
“The condition of the township has deteriorated over the last few years. Roads, streetlights, houses, et al, happen to be in bad shape. However, the BHEL management seems to be doing nothing about it,” he told me. This really surprised me, as according to several observers, the township (that spreads over an area of around 20 sq km) was well known for its greenery and for providing facilities like parks, community halls, library, shopping centres, schools and banks to its residents. “While old employees are retiring at a fast pace, new recruitments still take a backseat...” added Bora. But that was where the bad news ended, in Bora’s opinion. On the professional front, he was more than happy supplying to BHEL. Apart from BHEL, he had been supplying raw materials to other corporate houses as well. But the bond that he shares with BHEL Bhopal is perhaps special. “Despite the fact that they have a credit period of 90 days, which is far greater than other companies, it has always been a growing relationship with them,” said Bora.
By the time I reached Bhopal, I was naturally more impatient than ever to get to my destination. But the 11 hour long journey had compelled me to call it a day. So I had to wait for a whole night before I could get to the bottom of things.
The next day, I started early for the township as it was 7 km. away from the hotel where I was staying. And this time, my guide was Aslam, an auto-rickshaw driver who have been faring passengers from the Bhopal city to the BHEL township for the last 20 years. He affirmed Bora’s observations as we entered the township. I could clearly see houses of employees, who had retired over the last few years, left abandoned or being demolished; particularly in areas like Kalibari, Govindpura, Security Line, Vijay Nagar, et al. Even in other parts of the township, the management doesn’t seems to be paying heed to the regular repair and maintenance work – whether it’s the roads or the employee quarters. Aslam told me that quite a few employees had made their own houses outside. Satellite colonies like Indrapuri, Bharat Nagar, Sonagiri and Saket were mushrooming around the township over the last few years (earlier, there were about 22,000 employees staying in 12,500 quarters inside this township, today the number has drastically reduced by almost 25-30%). “Everyone wants to own a house when he or she retires. And with easy availability of loan along with HRA facility from the company, if we are getting that chance, then what’s the harm,” reasoned an employee of BHEL Bhopal who had just moved into his own house at Sonagiri, a satellite colony near the township.
A senior employee, who had been with BHEL Bhopal for the last 34 years, cleared the air. “TRT quarters, as we call them, are being demolished because BHEL, in association with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Alstom (the global leader in equipment and services for power generation), is contemplating another plant at its Bhopal unit, which will fabricate nuclear turbines.” The plan is to manufacture high rating (starting from 660 MW to 1,000 MW) turbine-generator sets. In fact, the unit has already received its first ever order for providing steam generators for 700 MW nuclear sets. The company has also tied-up with GE-Hitachi for making nuclear reactors and is said to be in talks with other foreign players such as Westinghouse, Areva and Toshiba for supply.
The train was still in the outskirts of Delhi and the middle-aged, smartly dressed gentleman sitting beside me had already introduced himself. His name was Shyam Bora. Call it my sheer luck or a plain coincidence, he turned out to be a supplier of raw materials (for the last 30 odd years) to BHEL!
“The condition of the township has deteriorated over the last few years. Roads, streetlights, houses, et al, happen to be in bad shape. However, the BHEL management seems to be doing nothing about it,” he told me. This really surprised me, as according to several observers, the township (that spreads over an area of around 20 sq km) was well known for its greenery and for providing facilities like parks, community halls, library, shopping centres, schools and banks to its residents. “While old employees are retiring at a fast pace, new recruitments still take a backseat...” added Bora. But that was where the bad news ended, in Bora’s opinion. On the professional front, he was more than happy supplying to BHEL. Apart from BHEL, he had been supplying raw materials to other corporate houses as well. But the bond that he shares with BHEL Bhopal is perhaps special. “Despite the fact that they have a credit period of 90 days, which is far greater than other companies, it has always been a growing relationship with them,” said Bora.
By the time I reached Bhopal, I was naturally more impatient than ever to get to my destination. But the 11 hour long journey had compelled me to call it a day. So I had to wait for a whole night before I could get to the bottom of things.
The next day, I started early for the township as it was 7 km. away from the hotel where I was staying. And this time, my guide was Aslam, an auto-rickshaw driver who have been faring passengers from the Bhopal city to the BHEL township for the last 20 years. He affirmed Bora’s observations as we entered the township. I could clearly see houses of employees, who had retired over the last few years, left abandoned or being demolished; particularly in areas like Kalibari, Govindpura, Security Line, Vijay Nagar, et al. Even in other parts of the township, the management doesn’t seems to be paying heed to the regular repair and maintenance work – whether it’s the roads or the employee quarters. Aslam told me that quite a few employees had made their own houses outside. Satellite colonies like Indrapuri, Bharat Nagar, Sonagiri and Saket were mushrooming around the township over the last few years (earlier, there were about 22,000 employees staying in 12,500 quarters inside this township, today the number has drastically reduced by almost 25-30%). “Everyone wants to own a house when he or she retires. And with easy availability of loan along with HRA facility from the company, if we are getting that chance, then what’s the harm,” reasoned an employee of BHEL Bhopal who had just moved into his own house at Sonagiri, a satellite colony near the township.
A senior employee, who had been with BHEL Bhopal for the last 34 years, cleared the air. “TRT quarters, as we call them, are being demolished because BHEL, in association with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Alstom (the global leader in equipment and services for power generation), is contemplating another plant at its Bhopal unit, which will fabricate nuclear turbines.” The plan is to manufacture high rating (starting from 660 MW to 1,000 MW) turbine-generator sets. In fact, the unit has already received its first ever order for providing steam generators for 700 MW nuclear sets. The company has also tied-up with GE-Hitachi for making nuclear reactors and is said to be in talks with other foreign players such as Westinghouse, Areva and Toshiba for supply.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM B-School Detail
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM B-School Detail
