Maharashtra’s Thane is another city besides Rajasthan’s Udaipur that is known as the City of lakes. The reference has been derived due to the factor that the city features about 35 lakes within its boundaries. The city’s close proximity to Mumbai has caused a perception among people outside Maharashtra that it is an extended part of Mumbai. Thane is the third most industrialised district of Maharashtra. The presence of major companies in the region has made it an attractive destination for CSR investments.
In FY 2021-22, Thane received CSR funds worth Rs 162.44 crores from 455 companies. The top three sectors of focus for CSR initiatives in the district were Health, Education, and Environment. The top companies contributing for CSR in the district in the FY include Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (Rs. 14.75 crore), HDFC Bank Limited (Rs. 9.57 crore), and Zanmai Labs Private Limited (Rs. 6.8 crore).
Top CSR Projects in Thane
25 Water Kiosks installed across Thane with CSR support
In an initiative to provide relief to the citizens amid scorching heat, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has installed 25 water kiosks across the city in collaboration with MCHI (Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry) and Samarth Bharat Vyaspeeth. This move is part of the action plan devised by the TMC to mitigate the challenges posed by rising temperatures due to urbanization.
The water kiosks have been installed at Thane Station, Kopri Bridge, Ice Factory, Jawaharbagh, Asher IT Park, Kisannagar School, Ambika Nagar No. 3, Padwal Nagar, Hajuri Gaon, Passport Office, Teen Hath Naka, Kolshet Road Naka, Balkum Naka, Majiwada Naka, Kalwa Station, 90 Feet Road-Kharegaon, Kalwa Naka-Datt Mandir, Kausa Talav, Wafa Park, Amrit Nagar, Lokmanya Depot, Rabodi, Court Naka, Vartaknagar Naka, and Shastri Nagar Naka.
These kiosks have been funded through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. At these 25 locations, large water containers and glasses have been placed, and the respective organizations are ensuring a regular supply of potable water daily, as per reports.
Sewage Treatment Plant at Thane Railway Station by Meyer Organics
A new sewage treatment plant was inaugurated at Thane Railway station premises in January 2023. The plant treats 45 kilolitres of sewage generated every day by Thane Railway Station premises, railway colony, offices, hospital and institute facilities at Thane. The plant is expected to reduce municipal water consumption by up to 60 percent and produce approximately 100 kgs of compost every month, which can be used in gardens and residential colonies.
Built by Meyer Organics under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, the sewage treatment plant uses highly effective MBBR technology to treat sewage. The technology uses layers of bio-films containing bacteria to break down sewage into clean usable water and rich compost. Meyer Organics is part of UK’s leading nutraceuticals company Vitabiotics.
Robot for cleaning manhole by Tata Trust
The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation received the third manhole cleaning robot in December, 2022. The robot has been donated by the Tata Trust through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. The civic body has decided to use robots to clean the clogged sewers in the city instead of using the UMC labours. Earlier, the Municipal Corporation had purchased two robots with CSR funds.
SBI donates ambulance to Thane Zilla Parishad
State Bank of India (SBI) donated a fully-equipped ambulance to the Zilla Parishad of Thane earlier this month. This initiative aims to boost emergency medical services in the region. The ambulance, outfitted with state-of-the-art medical facilities, was formally handed over to Ashok Shingare (IAS), District Collector, and Manuj Jindal (IAS), Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad Thane in the presence of Joohi Smita Sinha, General Manager Network II, Mumbai Metro Circle, SBI along with officials from Zilla Parishad, Thane and SBI.
Panasonic Life Solutions India’s Mobile Medical Unit
Panasonic Life Solutions India launched a Mobile Medical Unit with the support of Gurukrupa foundation to improve the health conditions of people in Thane in August, 2023. This ongoing effort under the Arogyadoot project will aim to provide Primary Health Care through a Mobile Medical Unit.
The van will cater to residents of low-income groups in Chirag Nagar, Majiwada, Nalpada, Kokanipada, and Dharmveer Nagar treating OPD ailments while performing blood and sugar tests, as well as offering generic drug support for fever, cough, cold, viral infection, and other skin problems which will be free of cost. This endeavor aims to increase the impact of providing health care systems to people of low-income groups.
AWS Think Big Space programme
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the expansion of the AWS Think Big Space programme in the Mumbai Metro Region by introducing it to two government-run schools in Thane in June this year. The programme aims to enable students to cultivate an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) disciplines. The program has been introduced to students of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) School number 60 and number 112, to benefit more than 220 students in the age group of six to 15 years.
AWS Think Big Spaces are labs designed to provide students from underserved communities a place beyond the classroom to explore and cultivate an interest in STEAM disciplines. These labs encourage a hands-on approach, enabling students to tinker and explore so that they can think big to solve real-world problems.
Project PEUSC
Project PEUSC (Promoting Education for Underprivileged School Children) is a CSR initiative by RDC Concrete, independent ready-mix concrete manufacturing Indian company. This project aims to support education initiatives for children from deprived sections of society all over India, covering over 70 similar schools.
Earlier this year, the company undertook the renovation of Ganesh Vidyalaya, a semi-government school for underprivileged students located in Kharegaon, Kalwa near Thane. The renovation efforts at Ganesh Vidyalaya were comprehensive and focused on addressing critical infrastructure needs. A 1500-liter water tank was installed to ensure a steady supply of clean drinking water for the students. Moreover, the installation of water purifiers further enhanced the water quality, safeguarding the health of the students. The company also repaired the existing desks, which were in a dilapidated condition, and also procured new ones to ensure comfortable seating for the students.
Project Tejas
Tejas, a teacher training project delivered by the British Council in association with Tata Trusts and the Maharashtra State Government, has upskilled 51,000 teachers across 36 districts in Maharashtra, who in turn, teach 1.4 million young students in the state schools.
The project set out to benefit primary school teachers and students across government schools in Maharashtra through improved English language proficiency. Tejas was run through an engaging, replicable model wherein teachers could not only manage their own development but also sustain it for larger peer to peer groups, in and beyond the State.
Tejas is a significant project for the State of Maharashtra as it represents a transition from a traditional model of teacher training to a more sustainable, internally supported approach that promotes holistic professional development through communities of practice. The project has helped build the State’s institutional capacity to support and implement large-scale, long-term in-service teacher training programmes which do not rely solely on cascade training as the medium of delivery.
The five-year project (2016-21) showed resilience to the pandemic and met its timeline by embracing the virtual platform and holding over 3,500 online meetings in the past year since the first lockdown.
The project started as a pilot in nine districts of Maharashtra in 2016 and later was scaled up in 27 other districts including Thane among others.
Oxygen on Wheels Project
In order to aid the fight against the pandemic, the Mahindra Group rolled out a free service initiative, ‘Oxygen on Wheels’ (O2W), to strengthen the availability of oxygen by connecting oxygen producers with the hospitals and medical centres in dire need of it.
O2W was launched in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Chakan, Nasik and Nagpur with over 100 Mahindra vehicles ferrying oxygen. The initiative was helmed by Mahindra Logistics in partnership with the administration and local government bodies. With a large fleet of vehicles at its disposal and an integrated command and control centre, Mahindra Logistics has been working on creating a seamless and endless chain of supply of lifesaving oxygen and transport it to the hospitals and medical centres in a way that is safe and reliable.
LANXESS B-ABLE Skill Centre
LANXESS India Private Limited has established a skill development centre in Thane as part of its CSR programme to provide training to aspiring candidates looking for suitable employability. The LANXESS B-ABLE SKILL CENTRE was set up in association with BASIX Academy for Building Lifelong Employability Limited (B-Able) who is the implementation partner for the project for a period of three years starting from 2019, covering Thane, Jhagadia and Nagda.
In its first year, LANXESS India trained 129 candidates in its centre in Thane wherein the candidates were given training under the categories of Sewing Machine operators and Call Centre executives. The courses started in January 2019 and after completion, candidates were assisted with placements.
A total of 96 candidates which is 78% of the total enrolments, have been placed in companies or have started their own business after the project concluded. LANXESS has supported B-Able on this project with the cost of mobilization, training, human resource, rent for the facility etc.
The project is focused on providing skill development training for the youth who are unskilled, semi-skilled, school dropouts and come from the underprivileged sections living in and around LANXESS India’s operations.
Water Project by Mahindra Logistics
Shahapur is the largest taluka in the Thane district and faces severe water shortage during the summer season. Towards easing the situation and improving the lives of residents, Mahindra Logistics has adopted Tembha and is conducting various developmental initiatives including infrastructure development, education, health and vocational guidance amongst others.
The company has set up a water project at Jambhulpada, a hamlet in Tembha village near Shahapur, as part of its CSR initiative in 2018. The initiative has benefitted around 75 families and permanently resolved their water woes.
