The Government of India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is launching the “Women for Water, Water for Women Campaign” under its flagship scheme, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), in collaboration with the Ministry’s National Urban Livelihood Mission and Odisha Urban Academy as the knowledge partner. This campaign commemorates “Jal Diwali” and will run from November 7th to November 9th, 2023.
The campaign’s goal is to offer a platform for women’s participation in water governance. Women will gain firsthand understanding of water treatment procedures through this program by visiting Water Treatment Plants in their local cities. The goal is to educate them on the critical procedures involved in providing households with clean and safe drinking water. Furthermore, ladies will obtain knowledge about water quality testing techniques that ensure citizens receive water of the proper quality. The campaign’s purpose is to instill in women a sense of ownership and belonging to water infrastructure.
Women have an important role in home water management throughout India. The government hopes to improve women’s ability to provide safe and clean drinking water for their households by providing them with knowledge about water treatment techniques and infrastructure. The program strives to solve gender equality challenges by fostering inclusivity and diversity in historically male-dominated industries.
The first phase of the “Water for Women, Women for Water Campaign,” “Jal Diwali,” will see participation from all states/UTs (excluding the five states covered by the Model Code of Conduct), with over 15,000 SHG women scheduled to participate nationwide.
MoHUA
CSR efforts for safe drinking water
Several Indian PSUs and private organizations are attempting to ensure clean drinking water in deprived areas. In this context, The CSR Journal examines some of the most recent CSR projects targeted at guaranteeing access to safe drinking water, particularly in rural India.
Under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) effort, Talcher Super Thermal Power Plant, also known as NTPC Kaniha, the country’s second largest power plant, addresses the serious issue of water scarcity in adjacent villages. As part of this program, NTPC Kaniha has been supplying safe drinking water via tankers to 24 communities in the Project’s vicinity since March of this year.
NTPC Kaniha Township provides drinking water to villages twice daily, in the mornings and nights, via 8 dedicated water tankers. Every day, the tankers deliver around 2.5 lakh gallons of potable water. This ongoing program benefits 24 villages spread over eight Gram Panchayats, including Kaniha, Bijigol, Gadasila, Derang, Kamarei, Hariharpur, Badagundari, and Kakudia.
In August of this year, the Hyundai Motor India Foundation installed AquaKraft Drinking Water Purifiers in 50 government schools in seven districts of Madhya Pradesh State, benefiting over 30000 children and 3000 teaching and non-teaching personnel. The Hyundai Motor India Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hyundai Motor India Ltd, implemented this campaign under Hyundai’s CSV philosophy of ‘CONTINUE’ and the ‘Safe Drinking Water for a Better Future’ initiative.
The ‘Safe Water’ Initiative was launched in response to a survey that found that the majority of schools in the region had TDS levels ranging from 400-700 mg in their drinking water, compared to the legal limit of 500 mg. School administrators in each of the 50 locations were made aware of the situation.
Piramal Foundation and Standard Chartered Bank recently announced that they will supply clean drinking water to 5 lakh individuals in rural regions through the Foundation’s water initiative, Piramal Sarvajal, and Enable Health Society. The Village Water Committee (VWC) initiative, led by 50% women, has now evolved into an integrated water management program focused on water security and source sustainability in 123 villages and 25 schools throughout seven states.
To address the severe water crisis, the program catalyzed community ownership by establishing village-level institutions to plan and oversee water conservation efforts, as well as decentralized drinking water units, promoting collective action for water security in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
To address the severe water crisis, the program catalyzed community ownership by establishing village-level institutions to plan and oversee water conservation efforts, as well as decentralized drinking water units, promoting collective action for water security in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
There are currently 417 women VWC members driving grassroots governance and contributing to the solution in their villages by committing to water conservation, farm efficiency, and greywater management. The initiative has appointed and educated 34 female operators who are now serving as local change-makers, advocating water-efficient practices in villages.
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