An Effort Towards Improving Access to Water in Nandurbar by NSE Foundation

Nandurbar district lies in the north-west corner of Maharashtra state. The population of Nandurbar is predominantly Tribal consisting of 64% of Scheduled Tribes. It is among 4 districts in Maharashtra which have been chosen as a part of Government’s ‘Transformation of Aspirational District' Programme under Niti Aayog.

Dr. Rajendra Barud, IAS, District Collector, Nandurbar says - ‘Corporate and Government are two different aspects of development. Government and District administration implement many schemes . But if we get a little support from Corporate Social Responsibility, then I am sure that the progress of an aspirational district like Nandurbar can be achievable.’

Nationwide, Nandurbar is among the districts ranked at the bottom in terms of development such as Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water resources, Financial Inclusion, Skill Development and basic infrastructure. As it is a semi-arid region, the low rainfall and declining vegetation cover has led to drought conditions in Nandurbar over the last 7-8 years.

A transformation process has been catalyzed by the National Stock Exchange Foundation through its NGO partner - Centre for Environment Education and others to support the local community in accessing the water and its sustainable management with local government institutions.

A multi-stakeholder and convergence approach has been  adopted for initiatives such as desilting water bodies to improve their water holding capacity, setting up drinking water supply systems and improving water and sanitation facilities in schools.

The first priority of NSE Foundation was to resolve water related problems in the district. They collaborated with the district administration under the ‘Gaalmukta Dharam Gaalmukta Shivar (GDGS)’ scheme and contributed towards desilting of the existing Dams with the assistance from their implementation partner NGOs and local residents.

The silt obtained from dredging was offered to the local farmers. The project succeeded in achieving not only the primary goal of increasing the carrying capacity of the reservoirs but in addition to it, the fertility of farmers' crop fields also increased manifolds.

Nearly 30 dams have been desilted in Nandurbar under GDGS yojna, coordinated by Centre for Environment Education with financial support from NSE Foundation. The multi-stakeholder and convergence approach has also been used for the provision of potable water to several villages.

In Gadadani cluster, NSE Foundation partnered with PriMove to implement the ‘Swajal Yojna’ of the Government of India to set up water supply points in the village.

In Bhadwad and Nimbhel village clusters efforts to create water supply systems from Tapi river were stalled due to lack of funds. With NSE Foundation’s support, CEE was able to facilitate the convergence of additional funds from local area development funds  of the Hon’ble Member of Legislative Assembly, grants from the Central Government and the State Government.

Over 9000 people have benefitted with regular access to water, saving time and money. Water management committees have been formed in the villages for operation and maintenance of water supply systems. PrimMove, CYT, partner organization of NSE foundation have been instrumental in promoting personal hygiene and sanitation. The residents are encouraged to construct toilets . They are educated about the harm they expose themselves to due to open defecation. Fun activities are designed to involve local school children to inculcate healthy habits.

These multi-stakeholder approaches catalyzed by the Corporate Social Responsibility efforts of NSE Foundation and implemented by Centre for Environment Education are helping improve access to water, improve sanitation and sustainable water management in Nandurbar.