Tata, Bye-Bye?

What would one choose between their right to vote in local body elections and to receive world class civic amenities? The answer isn’t as simple as it looks. Jamshedpur — the land of the Tatas has been struggling with this question for the last 30 years and looks like they still haven’t found an answer. Maintained by the Tatas, there has been a steady incline in the number of voices demanding a government operated municipality to take over the town. In the midst of consecutive orders by various High Courts, the Supreme Court and clashing opinions, SHWETA MENON in her visit to the steel city found that the majority verdict by the janta remains in favour of the Tatas.

- R M Lala

In the words of R M Lala, a Parsi author known for his chronicles on the Tatas, “it (Tata Steel) had dodged fierce strikes by disgruntled union workers in the 1920s; subsisted through decades of artificially low steel prices set by the Indian government after Independence; seen off threats of nationalisation during the reign of Indira Gandhi; upgraded an obsolete plant that was desperately in need of modernisation; and fought back from what its directors described as the brink of extinction in the early 1990s”. But looks like the steel behemoth hasn't been able to wave off the resentment that has been brewing among the inhabitants of Jamshedpur, for the last 30 years and is seemingly now posing a threat to the governance of the town by Tata Steel.

The need of today’s man in the overpopulated India isn’t just ‘Roti, Kapda aur Makaan.’ It now includes uninterrupted water and electricity supply, functional sewage systems, world class health and education services, in addition, to clean roads that if not anything provides a hint of living in a civilised neighbourhood.

As one travels from the Ranchi Airport to Jamshepdur via a rather bumpy ride of three hours, on the NH 33 filled with potholes and multiple diversions, one can instantly make out the difference as you enter the area of Bistupur, Jamshedpur administered by the Tatas. Well maintained roads with no litter, widespread greenery, houses running no more than a floor, neatly maintained employee quarters — the contrast becomes baffling. For many, the first impression of the town remains the same.