Hindustan Power CSR helps MP district raise food output

Hindustan Power Monday said initiatives taken under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme resulted in increasing the food sufficiency in Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh by around 50 percent.

The area is the location of the company's 1,200 MW thermal power project currently in the commissioning stage.

"Focusing on the needs of local population in mind, the CSR arm of Hindustan Power launched its key initiatives that include kharif stabilisation (paddy production), lac cultivation and backyard poultry intervention," the company said in a statement here.

"These programs not only resulted in increasing the food sufficiency by about 50 percent but also enabled sustainable development in the region," it added.

The district's paddy growers guided by Hindustan Power's CSR team have been able to reap an average of 19 quintals per acre as against the district average of 6.5 quintals an acre, the company said.

Hindustan Power also plans to introducing fishery as an option to help provide a sustainable source of income for the villagers.

Earlier this month, the company said it has invested Rs.400 crore at the Anuppur facility to introduce environment friendly technologies to check pollution.

"Considering agricultural activities in the area, the thermal arm has used advanced electrostatic precipitator (ESP) technology at a cost of Rs.400 crore to ensure zero discharge from its Anuppur thermal plant," Hindustan Power chairman Ratul Puri said in a release.