GM Tech Center India staffers undertake forest conservation and wildlife protection

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, employees at the General Motors Technical Center India (GMTC-I) recently undertook a forest conservation and wildlife protection drive in the reserve forests of Bandipur, Karnataka.

In an effort to conserve the forest environment and protect wildlife, GMTC-I employees planted a total of 2,400 saplings in Lokkere, located in the reserve forests adjacent to Bandipur Tiger Reserve on a crucial elephant migration corridor. Bandipur is one of the tiger reserves which come under the purview of ‘Project Tiger’ to save the tiger population. The area is identified as onePro of the 25 Tiger Reserves in India. The forest also has a good population of elephants and other animals.

The Bandipur Region consists of degraded forests and sparsely populated hamlets, each having about 25-30 households. About 10 percent of the land in this region is used for agricultural activities, with the rest being scrub forests. The forests are heavily degraded because of constant intrusion of cattle for grazing and chopping of trees for firewood.

As of today, approximately 70 to 80 percent of the planted trees in Bandipur are now holding the ground waters, enabling the local villagers to cultivate the carrot and turmeric crops in the region.

The ‘Go Green Committee’ at GMTC-I has been actively involved with the Bandipur Afforestation Programme since 2012. Till date, a total of 7,200 saplings have been planted by GMTC-I employees as part of its commitment to developing the community around where it is based.