Page 31 - Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2020-21

26 Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2020-21 27

Water and ecological security Strengthening ecological security Helping drive the
cleanliness mission
Ensuring water security Reliance Foundation encourages local communities to collectively conserve Reliance Foundation contributes to Transformation Rural
natural resources. Since inception, 2.3+ crore saplings have been planted by
Reliance Foundation works with communities to recharge Reliance Foundation across various sites in India to increase the green cover. the Government of India’s Swachhata
Hi Seva drive, besides providing
groundwater reservoirs and ensure sustainable water Reliance Foundation also encourages the use of clean energy such as biogas continued support to the Swachh
solutions. A range of water harvesting structures are and solar power along with holding workshops or providing mentoring on Bharat Abhiyan.
encouraged – bori bandhan, farm ponds, earthen dams, check sustainable agricultural practices, pest management, soil nutrition management
dams, ferro-cement tanks and dams – as per the topography, to help secure incomes while minimising costs and the environmental impact. In FY 2020-21, Reliance Foundation
soil quality and availability of materials. In FY 2020-21, the Creating conscious communities & conserving natural resources campaigned across 11 states of India
COVID-19 lockdown adversely impacted pre-monsoon water on cleanliness, organising mass
harvesting. But Reliance Foundation continued to motivate awareness drives and encouraging
communities to continue their work, linking them to MGNREGS communities to participate in mass
for employment while encouraging them to create water cleaning activities. The awareness drives
harvesting structures. focused on stopping open defecation.
Water budgeting activities also continued, with Reliance A small move becomes a movement Gram Panchayat representatives, SHG
Foundation providing remote mentorship during the year. members, health functionaries, youth
It also provided training, handholding and troubleshooting volunteers and the local administration
support. With the rural economy opening up in Q2, the focus actively engaged in shramdaan for Gram
shifted to refurbishing dilapidated water harvesting structures. Safai. Various activities, such as cleaning
village panchayat buildings, Anganwadi
131+ lakh cubic metres premises, schools, roads, areas
surrounding drinking water sources and
Of water harvesting capacity created in other public places were taken up.
FY 2020-21 (1,100+ lakh cubic metres total A ferro cement dam at Juda Madaiyan village in Pawai, Panna
since inception)

Making clean water a reality for the people of Gangakhed 317
Swachhata Shramdaan volunteering
events
After the installation of a water tank in my village,
women of our village no longer have to go far
to fetch drinking water. The Gram Panchayat fills
the tank on time. This has saved us a lot of time
and reduced a lot of our workload.”

Kanta Bai Women collective at work in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand 6,500
Parbhani district, Maharashtra Participants contributed 16,000+ hours

Fast-depleting groundwater not only creates shortage of water supply
With the support of Reliance Foundation, 72 Gram but can also expose the population to poor quality of water. Twenty-four
Panchayats of the Palam and Gangakhed blocks worked villages in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, came together under the leadership
Kanta Bai from Parbhani district, Maharashtra day and night to construct 74 water tanks, with a total water of SHGs and the local leadership for shramdaan, or voluntary labour
storage capacity of 3.96 lakh litres of water. contribution, at the Sharmali watershed to overcome the challenge of
water scarcity. The community put together a simple cost-effective water
In addition, 4,000 metres of running pipelines, were conservation model suitable for hilly regions, supported by the local 11,000+
For 55-year-old Kanta Bai from Parbhani district, constructed to make sure that every household got access authorities, organisations and Reliance Foundation. To ensure maximum People across 245 Gram Panchayats
Maharashtra, collecting water meant travelling long to water. water conservation, the villagers built eight small structures known as participated in cleanliness activities
distances and waiting in long queues.
This transformational change was possible because of jalkunds, which surround the drainage line, to prevent water and soil
For the women and girls in this hamlet in the Deccan the synergy between Reliance Foundation and the people loss on the slopes and increase percolation. The jalkunds have since
Plateau, the daily trudge also meant missing out on of Palam and Gangakhed, who wanted to change their been nourishing the soil, preserving the water level and providing nearby
education and other livelihood opportunities circumstances. villages access to clean water. These small changes in the infrastructure
To improve water accessibility in the region, the local have enhanced the efficiency of the water conservation effort, ensuring
Gram Panchayats reached out to Reliance Foundation, Today, access to safe drinking water has enriched the year-round supplies to households in the area.
which helped strengthen the existing water infrastructure lives of these people and opened their doors to many
and built new capacities to store water. possibilities. The exemplary display of leadership, ownership, and dedication that 500+
the community has shown through their shramdaan has inspired many SHGs participated in sensitisation
other communities to take collective action for the well-being of the events for behaviour change on
entire community. Led by women leaders and local organisations, water toilet use
conservation is turning into a movement for larger change.