Bhubaneswar : The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has successfully created over 1700 rainwater harvesting projects across the capital city of Bhubaneswar through “Urban Wage Employment Initiative’’(UWEI)
Interestingly these projects are executed by the members of the Mission Shakti Self Help Groups, federations and slum dwellers associations.
The UWEI which was launched on April 18, 2020 and later extended up to March 21 is being rechristened as a regular scheme to provide wage employment opportunities for the urban poor and needy people under Mukhya Mantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan’’ (MUKTA).
The project has brought a great help to the Temple City as the rainwater harvesting projects
would help in stabilizing the ground water table.
Experts have already warned that with the rapid urbanization process in and around the State
Capital, the groundwater table is in the dipping trend.
Sources said under the MUKTA Programme the self-help groups and resident and slum dwellers association in their coordinated efforts with the help of BMC engineering wing have successfully completed 1717 rainwater harvesting projects.
BMC Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Singh said all the 67 wards of the city are going to get the
benefits of the rainwater harvesting projects.They are mostly constructed in parks, open space,
grounds and the women SHGs have taken the responsibilities of their local projects with the
central theme of “Progress through Partnership’’.
All the 1717 rainwater harvesting projects were completed by June 30, 2021. About 3,000
members of women SHGs have participated while representing 265 SHGs through
community-led participatory work.
These SHGs were short-listed from the various such organizations enlisted with the civic
body. The projects were directly given to the SHGs concerned through a bottom up approach
model.
All the local residents and community leaders are also involved in the process. With the
collective decision-making process they have selected the place for execution, monitoring
of work and social audit.
During the COVID pandemic situation, in which the entire globe was affected due to loss of employment and work hours, MUKTA has helped families in getting more than 53,000 unskilled
and 20,000 skilled workdays in the city.
The BMC authorities are, meanwhile, planning to add more members from Mission Shakti
Self Help Groups in other city-wide projects and programmes so that the community-led
participatory approach could help all sections of the society in the Temple City.
UNI
