HDFC Bank Parivartan transforms 5 villages in Mandla, MP

Agriculture & Rural Development Release

Published By - The CSR Journal

January 22, 2019

Reading time - 3 min.

HDFC Bank Ltd. has announced the successful completion of its Holistic Rural Development Programme (HRDP) in 5 villages in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. Through this initiative, 824 households will now have access to potable water for drinking and farming as well as training in new and improved agriculture practices.

HRDP is a flagship CSR initiative of #Parivartan, HDFC Bank’s umbrella brand for all its social development programmes. It seeks to better village life by focussing on improvements in key areas of:

1. Promotion of Education

2. Skills Training and Livelihood Enhancement

3. Rural Development

4. Healthcare and Hygiene

5. Financial Literacy and Inclusion.

Under this unique programme, a thorough assessment of the village is carried out to understand its developmental needs. To address these needs in a sustainable and effective manner, the Bank creates long-term solutions in partnership with an NGO and the local community. The beneficiaries of HRDP include small farmers, youth, landless labourers, children and women.

The Bank partnered with the Watershed Organisation Trust to implement its HRDP in Mandla. The project began on 1st September 2015 and has helped to transform Ahmadpur, Surajpura, Thonda, Salhedanda and Pondi villages of Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh. The 3,522 villagers were mostly dependent on agriculture and the associated seasonal labour as their primary source of income. Through the programme, they have now found alternate means of sustenance.

In a handover ceremony held on Thursday, Nusrat Pathan, Head – Corporate Social Responsibility, HDFC Bank handed over the project to the Salhedanda and Gyani Singh Barkade, Sarpanch, Gram Panchayat, Salehdanda and Kasturibai Narveti, Sarpanch, Gram Panchayat, Ahmedpur in the presence of the senior government officials and Bank employees.

“Through HRDP we are creating an ecosystem to improve the overall economic and social conditions in rural India. Our NGO partners play an instrumental role in planning and executing projects. We are happy to see the positive impact of our work in Mandla and thank all the participants who participated in the project to make the initiative a success.” said Ms Nusrat Pathan, Head – Corporate Social Responsibility, HDFC Bank.

Key Interventions achieved through the activity

Focus Area	Interventions
Capacity building and awareness:	5 exposure tours and 5 workshops have been organized for village leaders to expose them with best practices in agriculture
Soil and water conservation measures:	240-hectare area has been treated in all the proposed 5 villages. Ridge to valley approach has been followed during the entire land treatment process. 24 small water harvesting structures have been constructed to conserve water for irrigation in Rabi season. 3 gabion structures have been constructed to conserve soil and checking high water runoff 6 loose boulder structures have been constructed for conserving soil and checking high water runoff 4 gully plugs have been constructed to conserve soil and checking high water runoff 10 big farm ponds have been constructed covering 45 – 50 marginal farmers. Construction of 16 new community irrigation wells in 5 villages has been done. Each well is benefitting minimum 5 farmer families and there is the common agreement prepared for common usage of water between 5 farmers. Irrigation tools like diesel/electric pumps, pipes, sprinklers, drip system, waters saving devices have been distributed in convergence with available Govt. scheme and group beneficiaries’ contribution. It is benefitting more than 75 small & marginal farmers. Custom hiring centre has been developed which will over time benefit more than 400 farmers.
Women drudgery reduction activity:	5 solar pumping system has been installed to ensure potable drinking water in all the 5 project villages
Climate Smart Interventions:	16 agro-related advisories have been organized to benefit more than 400 farmers for innovative practices of agriculture. Training on disaster mapping for finding vulnerable spots in each village with VDC and local youths have been conducted. Agricultural demonstrations of vegetables, cereal, implements, green fodder and pulse crops have been carried out at 23 demo plots per village directly benefiting more than 50 farmers. 50 organic compost, NADEP, vermi beds have been constructed
Other programmes	Water connections provided to ensure regular water supply at schools as well as in the villages.

Tags:
CSR of HDFC Bank

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