Collective technical association towards water conservation, restoration of water bodies and intensive afforestation to enhance the district’s biodiversity.

India: As a part of water conservation interventions by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh and district administration of Gautam Buddh Nagar and “Harit – The Green Spaces Initiatives by HCL Foundation”, HCL Foundation, the CSR arm of HCL Technologies, last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the District Administration, Gautam Buddh Nagar to work towards water conservation interventions and increasing the green cover in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, under HCL’s urban development program ‘HCL UDAY’.

Effective for a duration of 5 years, the MoU was signed between Rajeev Rai, Sub-Divisional Magistrate – Tehsil Dadri, Gautam Buddh Nagar on behalf of district administration; and Nidhi Pundhir, Director – HCL Foundation in the presence of Jai Pratap Singh, Minister of Excise, Government of Uttar Pradesh; Dr. Mahesh Sharma, MP, Gautam Buddh Nagar; Pankaj Singh, MLA, Noida; and Brijesh Narayan Singh, District Magistrate, Gautam Buddh Nagar.

The key objectives behind this collaboration are:

• Setting up stakeholder engagement digital platforms for monitoring, reporting, and verification for existing water conservation interventions in the district,
• Rejuvenate traditional water bodies/ water conservation structures,
• Mass afforestation on Government allotted land in partnership with the District Administration, and
• Mass communication campaigns for a larger citizen’s action on water conservation, restoration of traditional water bodies and intensive afforestation to enhance the district’s biodiversity.

In accordance with the MoU, HCL Foundation and District Administration, Gautam Buddh Nagar will work together to co-develop digital database platform for monitoring, reporting, and verification for existing water bodies in the district. HCL Foundation will jointly identify few water bodies with the district administration which are in need of rejuvenation and conservation and will take up water conservation interventions in them.

HCL Foundation and District Administration will also mutually exchange scientific and technical information, techniques and know-how that may aid the water conservation and afforestation interventions. While the District Administration will provide support to the afforestation activities in convergence and consonance with ongoing afforestation schemes of Government of Uttar Pradesh and HCL Foundation will be responsible for afforestation of native species suitable to the soil and environmental conditions on land assign by the District Administration and maintain in for next 5 years.

Besides, HCL Foundation and District Administration of Gautam Buddh Nagar will also collaborate in disseminating mass communication campaigns for a larger citizen’s action such as public meetings, workshops, symposiums, street plays, etc to create mass awareness about the water conservation and afforestation for brighter environmental future of the society.

Nidhi Pundhir is the Global Head of CSR for HCL. She leads the HCL Foundation, as Director CSR which is the CSR arm of HCL Technologies. She leads the Urban Community Development Program called HCL Uday as well as the prestigious path-breaking initiatives of Power of 1 and the HCL Grant.

She has set up unique and scalable institutional mechanisms that maximize the utilization of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provisions towards achieving sustainable development, thus positively transforming the lives of many.

HCL Foundation works towards protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystem and wetlands along with conservation of natural water bodies, including river rejuvenation, oceans, natural springs, lakes and others.

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