Odisha (an eastern Indian state) prioritizes water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for all. Besides creating adequate infrastructure, Odisha is ensuring the last mile service delivery through a decentralized community -led WASH management in the cities. This instills community stewardship while leveraging the local resources and skills.
Around 23% of Odisha’s urban families (1.56 m people) live in slums (Census, 2011), are engaged in informal daily wage job like sanitation work, rag picking, construction labor, etc. With low levels of education and skills, they struggle accessing opportunities in urban areas. Absence of identity and address papers deprive them of state’s social security benefits.
India’s 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, and National Urban Livelihood Mission, 2013 mandate the Urban Local Bodies to address vulnerabilities of urban poor through grassroots institution building, skilling and engaging them in livelihoods.
Odisha has engaged a woman cadre called Jalasathis (Water-Friends) in 2019, who are WSHG members, for managing public awareness, water tax collection, and resolving on-the-ground issues of water supply. Similarly, based on the DAY-NULM and SBM Convergence Guidelines, 2018, Odisha has pioneered the decentralised community partnership model in Solid Waste Management (SWM).
More than 5000 women members from sanitation worker, waste picker and trans-women SHGs are spearheading the SWM value chain – ensuring citizen’s behaviour change, collection and processing of segregated waste.
Odisha has established a training - learning ecosystem with tech-support from Urban Management Centre, a not-for-profit. WSHG friendly modules on their roles and responsibilities, digital literacy, financial literacy, communication skills have been developed and they have been trained.
Overall, 6000 plus WSHG members are managing WASH in Odisha. These women earn a decent income of 15000 INR per month and can access social security entitlements. Women’s status has increased within family and the community; they have gained voice and agency besides their economic empowerment.
