OREANDA-NEWS. September 7, 2011. Dhanbad, Jharkand: Maithon Power (a joint venture of Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation), in continuation with the “Green Maithon, Great Maithon” campaign launched on World Environment Day, has undertaken green belt development on over 400 acres of project area and social forestry in a 10-km radius. Under this initiative, Tata Power has also engaged a group of 36 members from the local communities as gardeners to provide them sustainable livelihoods.

The “Green Maithon, Great Maithon” campaign has been conceptualised with the dual objective of preserving the biodiversity of the region and generating sustainable livelihood for local communities through engaging them as workforce for implementation of such green initiatives; thus, enabling partnership with stakeholders to protect the environment.

Thirty-six members from local communities were imparted one-month training through The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), technical consultant, to develop their capabilities in gardening. The training emphasised various concepts and practical issues related to the plantation and post-plantation maintenance. These members were also put through three days of safety training and orientation covering various behavioural aspects like safe work culture, first aid and others for their all-round development and professional growth.

During the training, the 36 members from local communities were provided a monthly stipend and have been now employed at an attractive salary (as applicable) under Sidhu Kanhu Alpsankhya Vikash Samiti, the implementing contractor for the green belt development from August 1, 2011.

Speaking on the initiative, Praveer Sinha, head, eastern region projects, said, “The cooperation and enthusiasm of local communities in the green belt development around Maithon is increasing and we are certain it will encourage more people to participate. The initiative is in continuation with our efforts towards sustainable development and livelihood generation for communities living in and around our area of operation. Through this initiative, we intend to drive home the message of environment conservation and maintaining the ecological balance.”

The green belt development has been under implementation since one month and has witnessed overwhelming performance. The success of this initiative has provided impetus to extend the training and deployment to the next batch of 36 volunteers from local communities around the project area.