Project Background and Overview

The growth rate of the population is very high. The current census report reveals that the population of Indore city is increased by 32.7% which has attributed to the lack of basic services like safe drinking water, poor sanitation and hygiene. Migration is another major factor which has further aggravated the problem and major contributor in disturbing the supply and demand chain of the city especially the WASH services.

Bhartiya Grameen Mahila Sangh since 2006 in partnership with Water Aid Bhopal is implementing a project “Sustainable safe water supply and sanitation in specific urban slums of Indore” in the 51 marginalized and excluded communities of 10 wards of Indore city. The key approach of the project is to organize, and mobilize the communities. Develop the local leadership at the community level and build their capacities through various training programs/seminar/workshops so that the communities can raise the demand for WASH services on the other hand influence the stakeholders to ensure sustainable access and control over the WASH services.

Aims and Objectives of Project

• Promote and secure poor people’s rights and access to safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation (empower the excluded and marginalized in Indore to access safe and sustainable WASH services as their right.
• Support government and other service providers in developing capacities to improve WASH service delivery as a right for the excluded and marginalized of the city
• Advocate for essential role of water improved hygiene and sanitation in human development.

Major Activities

• Focusing, on ensuring WASH services in communities by setting up of local institutional arrangement in the form of CGCs. (project goal) These samitis’ would get an affiliation from Indore Municipal Corporation as Mohalla Samiti and act as a partner of Nagar Nigam (as per the 74th amendment of the constitution).
• Building capacity of CGCs on various issues – water sanitation and hygiene so that they can raise a demand for WASH services.
• Testing the quality of Government water sources. Promoting the use of chlorine liquid/tablets.
• Promoting slum dwellers for legal water connections (subsidized), to promote sanitation through motivational camps, to promote hygiene by organizing personal hygiene and menstrual hygiene management sessions in schools and at community.
• Identifying the gaps at the service provider level and playing an important role of catalyzer to address and overcome these gaps. Helping the Indore Municipal Cooperation (IMC) in improving the service delivery system e.g. testing the water quality of government water sources (drinking), distribution of chlorine tablets and record maintenance
• The stakeholders – TARU, AAs, CEPRD Urban Health Resource Centre, Deen Bhandu, and Nagar Swaraj Abhiyaan are extending their support in the better implementation of the program.

Achievements

• 40% population of the target population has access to safe drinking water.
• 10% population of the target population made free from open defecation.