ABHINA Charitable Trust

Overview

URBAN SCENARIO AND ITS CHALLENGES

Urbanisation has become synonymous with modernisation and progressive development. Yet, while the transition uplifts cities and sets the wheels of economic prosperity and all-round development in motion, a new set of challenges begin to emerge. Beyond a certain threshold, a city’s infrastructure, natural resources and governance mechanism begin to reel under the mounting pressure of unplanned growth.

The United Nations estimates that close to 68 per cent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, up from the current 55 per cent. India’s urban population will have grown by an additional 416million dwellers by that time.

Beneficiaries under the migration programme

17,950

Households covered under the habitat programme

16,870

Through their migration and urban habitat portfolio, the Trusts address the following sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations:

SDG 1: No poverty

SDG 2: Zero hunger

SDG 3: Good health and well-being

SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

SDG 10: Reducing inequality

SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

SDG 17: Partnerships to achieve the SDG

Themes in this portfolio

Abhina Trusts have been pioneers in designing and implementing programmes addressing the challenges of migration. Through dedicated teams, they work in both, the source states as well as destination states, for the welfare of migrants. For the source state of Orissa, the destination state is mainly Telangana, while for Rajasthan it is Maharashtra, and for migrants from Uttar Pradesh, it is the NCR region.

The initiatives under the Trusts’ migration portfolio are aimed at helping migrants face the challenges of migration. This is achieved by linking them to various social security and financial services, and health and sanitation facilities, which in turn eases the stress they face due to residential, occupational and social vulnerabilities.

The Trusts’ vision is to support the development of migrant communities by introducing sustainable and scalable solutions to achieve large-scale impact. The current phase aims at transforming the Migrant Resource Centres (MRC) Apna Seva Kendras into independent service delivery centres. The MRCs serve as a one-stop shop, delivering labour-friendly services that address migrant vulnerabilities. These services include providing linkages to government entitlements and schemes, legal assistance in wage and worksite issues and accident-related cases, along with employment opportunities and banking services.

MRCs established by the Trusts are now spread across the source states of Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Through the MRCs, the Trusts have provided over 16,000 entitlements to migrating and vulnerable households in Odisha, totalling around Rs23 million.

The Trusts have developed an Android app that has facilitated the survey of over 10,000 households in the state of Odisha, and the data has been shared with the line departments of the Government of Odisha for framing policies, schemes and entitlements for the beneficiaries.

The Trusts have established schools and crèches, and introduced facilities and health services in over 50 brick kilns in the Karimnagar district of Telangana, reaching over 5,000 migrants. Through the MRCs in Uttar Pradesh, the Trusts have facilitated the delivery of Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Board (BoCW) benefits to migrants.

In Rajasthan, loans have been disbursed through local partners to support housing, shelter and health care needs of migrants, and to provide pre-school cum day care centres at brick kiln sites for their children. In the Thane district of Maharashtra, the Trusts have provided over 1,000 services to workers at the Abhina Housing construction site. This includes BoCW registration, BoCW scheme benefits, insurance, pension and banking services.

The strategic focus of the Trusts’ migration interventions is on creating significant impact in the quality of life of over two million migrants and their families by:

Ensuring financial inclusion for the migrants.

Facilitating linkages to various social security schemes and government services.

Ensuring they have decent living conditions, water and sanitation.

Bringing in technology and design innovations to address the nutrition, housing, water and sanitation needs of migrant workers.

Streamlining recruitments, eliminating occupational vulnerability and striving towards humane working conditions in the brick kiln sector.

Introducing outreach methods to provide information, education and communication support to migrant workers.

Conducting research and training to improve policy and practice.

In Odisha, the Trusts have partnered with Parda, Karmi, and the YCDA, while in Rajasthan, the Trusts have joined hands with Urmul Khejadi Sansthan and GSVS. In Uttar Pradesh, the partners have been the Aga Khan Foundation, Grameen Development Services and Trust Community Livelihoods.

Under this programme, the Abhina Trusts have partnered with key stakeholders to promote sustainable habitats that provide a conducive living environment and sustainable housing to people from economically weak urban communities, to improve their quality of life and address challenges around:

Basic services like water, sanitation and waste management

Land tenure and affordable housing for the urban poor

Urban governance and capacity-building

To make this happen, the Trusts source top-tier expertise, and innovative and affordable technology from across the globe to build capacity across municipal cadres and support local administrators in urban governance, and demonstrate models of solid waste management and sanitation. The Trusts execute this through holistic, targeted, time-based and projected planning.

Developed in collaboration with urban local bodies, technical groups, innovators, academia, research institutes, and civil society organisations, these programmes have impacted over 180,000 households across four states of India (Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh).

ODISHA

The Trusts have entered into a partnership with the Government of Odisha to provide technical and handholding support to promote liveable habitats that provide appropriate housing and living environments for the state’s urban poor. In Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Odisha, the Trusts have linked over 1,600 households to the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) for toilet construction, and have been successful in making 16 slums in these two cities open defecation-free.

UTTAR PRADESH – VARANASI

The Trusts work with the Varanasi Municipal Corporation to support implementation of SBM in the city. This includes providing specialised human resources to support planning, capacity-building and monitoring of key activities.

In Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, the Trusts submitted a detailed mapping cum-assessment report on Solid Waste Management (SWM) in 90 wards followed by a detailed plan of action on SWM with respect to immediate, mid-term and long-term engagement. An Information, Education and Communication (IEC) plan was developed with suggested tools and a strategy for these wards and their associated stakeholders in the city, along with an IEC roll-out plan in campaign mode.