Kia India Organizes Clean-Up Drive Under Project D.R.O.P. at Ghaggar River, Zirakpur

Zirakpur, December 19, 2025: As part of its commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible community engagement, Kia India Pvt. Ltd., in collaboration with the Indian Pollution Control Association (IPCA), organized a clean-up drive at the Ghaggar River stretch in Zirakpur under Project D.R.O.P. (Develop Responsible Outlook towards Plastic), Kia India’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The drive aimed to address plastic waste pollution while encouraging responsible plastic consumption and waste management practices among citizens.

The clean-up drive was formally flagged off by Kuljit Singh Randhawa, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Halka Dera Bassi, Zirakpur, as the Chief Guest, in the presence of Parvinder Singh, Executive Officer, Municipal Council, Zirakpur, as the Guest of Honour, Manoj Kumar, Sanitary Inspector, Sukhwinder Singh, Community Facilitator, Amandeep Singh, Block In-charge, Halka Dera Bassi, Sumit Rana, Sarpanch, Halka Dera Bassi. 

Speaking at the event, Kuljit Singh Randhawa said, “The clean-up drive is an important step towards addressing plastic pollution and protecting our river ecosystems. I appreciate the efforts of Kia India and IPCA in organizing this initiative. Such collaborative efforts between industry, institutions, and local authorities can create a meaningful and lasting impact on environmental conservation. Continued community participation and collective responsibility are essential to ensure cleaner and healthier rivers.”

Reiterating Kia India’s commitment to sustainability and community-led environmental action, Atul Sood, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Kia India said, “At Kia India, sustainability is deeply embedded in our approach to responsible mobility and community development. Through Project D.R.O.P., we are focused on driving behavioural change by promoting responsible plastic consumption and strengthening structured waste management ecosystems. Our collaboration with IPCA and local authorities underscores our belief that meaningful environmental impact can only be achieved through collective action. Initiatives such as the Ghaggar River clean-up reflect our continued commitment to protecting natural resources and fostering long-term environmental awareness at the grassroots level.”

Highlighting the progress and scale of the initiative, Dr. Radha Goyal, Deputy Director, IPCA, said, “Project D.R.O.P., a CSR initiative of Kia India implemented by IPCA, was launched on January 1, 2023 across five cities Gurugram, Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Mumbai. The initiative has since expanded to eight cities, including Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Zirakpur, with over 1,100 enrolled establishments and a target of collecting 7,000 tonnes of plastic waste by 2025.”

The vision of Project D.R.O.P. is to make citizens more responsible towards their plastic consumption by encouraging reduction, saying no to single-use plastics, and promoting segregation of plastic waste at the source. This ensures plastic waste is channeled to authorized recyclers instead of landfills, thereby preventing environmental hazards such as land and water pollution and air pollution caused by burning plastic. The initiative also envisages collective action by municipal bodies and citizens to keep neighborhoods, streets, roads, and water bodies free from plastic waste.