Mumbai (India CSR): Anil Agarwal Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Vedanta Group, India’s leading diversified natural resources conglomerate, announced the launch of TACO – The Animal Care Organization, a first-of-its-kind animal welfare project.
Marking the launch of TACO, Anil Agarwal Foundation signed an MoU with Govt of Haryana and adopted Tapobhoomi Gaushala located in Faizupur Khadar, Faridabad, with the aim to develop it as a model animal shelter.
Krishan Pal Gurjar, Union Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries and Member of Parliament, Faridabad, formally handed over the Gaushala to Ms. Ritu Jhingon, Director – Group Communications, Vedanta Ltd. in the presence of Shri. Rajesh Nagar, Hon’ble MLA from Tigaon.
Also present during the inauguration ceremony were Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, CEO, Anil Agarwal Foundation along with Shri. Jitender Yadav, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad and Shri Trilok Chand, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Ballabhgarh.
TACO will upgrade the shelter infrastructure and manage the animal shelter operations partnering with KPMG for project design, National Veterinary Foundation for technical support and YODA, a prominent NGO in the animal welfare space as the implementation partner.
On the occasion, Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Non Executive Director, Vedanta Limited said, “TACO is a first-of-its-kind animal welfare project which will provide world-class infrastructure, veterinary services, training facility and animal shelters. TACO aims to set up a sustainable and scalable ecosystem for the well-being of animals, in collaboration with global and national academic institutions and knowledge partners.”
“The Anil Agarwal Foundation has rolled out a Rs. 5000 Crore socio-economic development roadmap for the next 5 years for the holistic development of rural India and Animal Welfare is one of the new focus areas for us under this roadmap”, she added.
Under the new initiative TACO, Anil Agarwal Foundation plans to support and strengthen veterinary healthcare services across Delhi-NCR and Mumbai regions. The project will start in the National Capital Region (NCR), with an initial corpus of Rs. 100 crores and will be further expanded across multiple other States in India.
TACO will comprise a three-tier structure which will work in tandem to create global standards in animal welfare.
The proposed multi-specialty veterinary hospital will focus on advanced animal healthcare, preventive veterinary care, spay and neuter programme, diagnostics, and mobile emergency care units. The Animal shelter will focus on rescue, rehabilitation, geriatric and palliative care, animal housing services, nutrition and well-being, while the Academy will provide short-term courses for different target groups including veterinarians, para-professionals and animal lovers.
The Anil Agarwal Foundation is the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s community and social initiatives. The focus areas of the Foundation are Healthcare, Women and Child development, Animal Welfare Projects and Sports Initiatives. Anil Agarwal Foundation aims to empower communities, transform lives and facilitate nation building through sustainable and inclusive growth.
