Tisco plants 40,000 saplings to make Jamshedpur green
Tapan Chakravorti
Jamshedpur, Jan 20: TATA Iron and Steel Co (Tisco) has planted 40,000 trees against a target of 77,582 trees in Jamshedpur town, steel works and Dimna by June, 1998.Tisco's corporate communications director Sanjay Singh told The Financial Express that the company has adopted a resolution to clean up the environment by planting one million trees at its business locations in Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. "Be sure to construct wide streets planted with shady trees of a quick growing variety. Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens. Reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks. Earmark areas of Hindu temples, Mohammedan mosques and Christian churches," J N Tata told his son Dorabji before Tata Steel Works was set up at Jamshedpur, Singh said. J N Tata's advice to his son has also influenced Tisco's principles. The company is committed to care for the environment and fulfil its social responsibilities, Singh said. According to him, besides introducing the most
environment-friendly technologies in steel making and mining operations, Tisco consistently pursues a dynamic programme for improving the environment of its business locations in various states. The company's forestry programme has set the pace of eco-protection and has become a role model for similar projects elsewhere in India. The "Save Forest Programme" is the yardstick for afforestation which aims at arresting soil erosion and preserving the climate. The 237.75 acre Jubilee Park, modelled after the Brindavan Gardens in Mysore, is the green belt of Jamshedpur. The park has a zoo which houses lions, tigers, elephants and alligators. The slag dumps around the steel works have been converted into green hills and the plantation inside the works have helped reduce environmental as well as noise pollution. The Noamundi iron ore mine, which is about 135 km from Jamshedpur, is being used to investigate various ecological progresses affecting the early establishments and growth of plants for the
development of a self-sustaining eco-system. The role of micro-organisms in promoting faster growth of plants on mined lands is also being studied. Several species of trees brought from the Amazon rain forests have been planted on a separate plot at Noamundi to study their suitability in the region. As part of a landscape development and reclamation programme, a 45-acre barren plot has been converted into the beautiful Sir Dorabji Tata Botanical Park which has a fine collection of foliages and shrubs.Noamundi has a nursery for raising Sal seedlings which is an indigenous plant in the region. Around 45 species of medicinal and aromatic plants have been developed there, Singh said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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