New Delhi: ONGC inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF) today at ONGC Urja Bhawan for cleaning the Himalayas as part of the Swachh Bharat Pakhwada. Aptly titled ‘Cleanathon Himalaya’, this innovative CSR programme of ONGC aims to clean three source tributaries of river Ganga viz. Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Pindari.
The campaign was flagged off in the presence of Mr DD Misra, Director (HR), ONGC. Mr SSC Parthiban, ED- Chief CSR- ONGC, Col H S Chauhan, President IMF, Dr Alka Mittal, GGM Head CSR ONGC and other senior officials from ONGC and IMF were present during the MoA signing ceremony.
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ONGC inks Memorandum of Agreement with IMF for cleaning three source tributaries of the Ganges in Uttarakhand during Swachh Bharat Pakhwada. The campaign is part of a unique initiative of ONGC to take Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to the Himalayas. (From Left) Dr (Mrs) Alka Mittal, GGM Head CSR -ONGC, Mr D D Misra, Director (HR), ONGC, Col H S Chauhan, President IMF and Mr SSC Parthiban, ED-Chief CSR during the MOA signing ceremony
The cleaning of source tributaries of the Ganges has been undertaken by ONGC to take the Government’s flagship cleanliness programme to the Himalayas – A first by any corporate.
Launching the current edition of the programme running into its fourth phase, Shri D D Misra, Director (HR) said “Today, we have launched 4th Phase, under which we aim to clean the source and catchment areas of 3 important tributaries of Ganga in Uttarakhand i.e. Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Pindari”.
Shri Misra said that the programme is a part of the ‘Swacchta Pakhwada’ drive of the Government of India beginning from 16th to 31st July, 2017 and ONGC remains committed to play an active role in the Swacch Bharat Mission of the Govt. of India.
ONGC is planning to make this effort a perpetual “Total Clean Himalayas” campaign with a view to ensure the cleanliness and revitalization of the most unique symbol of our eco-system – the Himalayas.
ONGC is partnering with Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), as part of a unique CSR initiative, to remove the hazardous garbage/waste generated by tourists at different tourist spots of Himalayas. In the three Phases completed so far, ONGC has covered important peaks and glaciers of Himalayas in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Arunachal Pradesh.
The total cost of this project will be Rs 35.4 Lakhs with each expedition consisting of 8-10 member teams. The duration of each cleaning expedition will be 23 days which will start from July 2017 and will be completed by December 2017.
In his introductory remarks, Mr SSC Parthiban, ED- Chief said that the efforts made by CSR group of ONGC and ably supported by the top management has led to a collaborative effort between ONGC & IMF as part of Swachhta Pakhwada drive of the MoPNG beginning from 16th to 31st July, 2017.
With innovation being the key CSR driver, this ONGC project titled “Cleanathon Himalaya” will leverage on the competencies of both ONGC and IMF in initiating a cleanliness drive across the upper reaches of the mighty Himalayas.
Note to the Editors:
Project Locations:
The cleaning expeditions will be carried out in the following three source tributaries of Ganga.
1. Bhagirathi River: Gangotri-Chirbasa-Bhojbasa-Gaumukh-Tapovan Base Camp (22 km.)
2. Alaknanda River: Mana-Laxmi Van-Chakrateertha-Neelkanth Base Camp (25 km.)
3. Pindari River: Kharkiya-Khati-Dwali-Pindari-Base Camp (21 km.)
Methodology:
A trained team of mountaineers with expedition guides and expedition porters will be directly engaged in cleaning the selected locations by physically binning the solid waste. The collected garbage will be segregated into bio-degradable and non-biodegradable and will be brought down to the nearest municipal corporation/the disposal point.
Collected garbage would be disposed through local recyclers or waste disposal mechanism of the local municipalities. At locations where waste disposal mechanism does not exist, non-biodegradable garbage would be brought down to nearest location where facilities exist.
Regular cleaning arrangements of dustbins will be tied up with the local concerned authorities. The expedition team will also create awareness about personal hygiene, sanitation and the benefits of cleanliness among the inhabitants of the villages.
Project expertise of Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF) will be utilised with the Project Team Leader to be selected by IMF from the pool of Mountaineers available with the IMF.
Volunteers will be sought from ONGC will also participate in the cleaning expeditions. However, other members for cleaning expedition will be selected from the villages/ area around the project location having mountaineering/adventure background.
ONGC has undertaken cleaning expedition under three phases earlier.
As part of Phase I, hazardous garbage and wastes generated by tourists were removed. The phase I also focused on creating awareness among the mountaineers and locals about the importance of eco-friendly measures to avoid stress on the environment. This cleaning expedition was carried out from August 2015 to September 2015 and covered Peak Stok Kangri in Ladakh Region, Shigri Glacier Region in Spiti Valley, Tapovan in Gangotri Region and Pindari Area in Uttarakhand at a total cost of Rs.18.24 lakhs.
Under Phase II, cleaning expeditions were carried out in the bank of Gaumukh, Tapovan, Nandanvan and Gangotri as part of drive to clean the sources of river Ganges from hazardous non bio-degradable waste and other garbage. The Phase II was carried out from May 2016 and end on October 2016 at a total cost of Rs 14.38 lakhs.
As part of the Phase III campaign, ONGC in collaboration with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) undertook cleaning expeditions in five locations of Himalaya range that included Chanshal Valley (Shimla District) and Triund Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, Yamunotri in Uttarkhand, Anini / Mechuka of Himalaya range of Arunachal Pradesh and Sheshnag / Chandanwari, Pehalgam, Lidder River and Amarnath Yatra Route of Himalaya range of Jammu & Kashmir. The expedition team also created awareness about personal hygiene, sanitation and the benefits of cleanliness among the inhabitants of the villages. The five cleaning expedition commenced from March 2017 and was completed in July 2017 with a financial implication of Rs 19.55 lakhs.
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