CHENNAI: Industries are often the biggest threat to forests and are known to replace green cover with drab concrete structures which pollute the environment. However, the TVS Motor Company in Hosur is busy breaking this stereotype and refining a trailblazing 50-acre on-campus forest system that could usher in an era in which companies are in touch with nature, if replicated properly.
The forest system in Hosur, which is one among eight other similar systems at TVS facilities across the country, occupies almost one-sixth of the total 325-acre facility. It has ten rain-fed ponds and 110 types of trees that offer refuge to over 135 species of birds. Mammals such as the civet cat, mongoose, slender loris and jackal, also call the forest - ‘home’.
Migratory birds such as painted stork and cormorant also regularly drop by between January and June. “Breeding is an excellent sign that the birds’ needs are met but the young lingering behind is very reassuring,” said renowned arachnologist Preston Ahimaz.
Labour of love
The forest system, which has become an ‘accepted refuge’, is a labour of love spanning over two decades, driven by chairman Venu Srinivasan’s love for nature. “The factory that began operations in 1979, depended solely on groundwater. So in about a decade, we decided to dig ponds so it can hold rainwater and recharge the water table,” said P Venkatesan, vice president, Estate Management, explaining how the forest system was developed around the ponds in the late 1990s.
“Students from a school which visited in the early 2000s, identified 72 varieties of trees and that’s when the obsession for the forest system took hold of us. When the migratory season begins, every morning we come and check for new birds,” he said.
Integrated, accommodative system
TVS has integrated the outside world and essential company requirements like testing track, into the forest system. “The track runs through a part of the forest and snakes used to cut across the testing track and pose a threat to riders and themselves, so the company decided to construct underground tunnels to allow snakes to pass under the track unharmed,” said Ahimaz.
Micro-environments coming up
While the overall forest is a delight to the eyes and is teeming with life, officials claimed that their project is far from saturation. “We want to develop micro-environments to further improve wildlife diversity,” said Ahimaz, explaining how micro-environments can range from tree barks to a pond. “We are focusing on the small details to ensure more and more species make this forest their home,” said D Prakalathan, a naturalist, overseeing the forest system.