Transforming vulnerable communities in Uttar Pradesh

Our South Asia business has designed and funded a successful corporate social responsibility programme in two rural villages in Uttar Pradesh, which has improved the lives and livelihoods of children, farmers, women and the elderly. The project has empowered vulnerable communities and reinforced our social purpose.

Over the past three years our South Asia team has contributed their time and expertise to deliver a successful corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, which has improved infrastructure and supported development in two rural villages, Kalandargarhi and Madanpur, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Identifying the right location, project type and scale at the start was vital to have a lasting positive impact. The villages have a population of more than 5,000 and have not benefited from much of the industrial, infrastructure and technology progress that is happening around them. They had significant unmet development needs with no targeted support from other public or private sources that duplicates our efforts.

Our initial analysis identified a number of areas where we could improve the lives of children, farmers, women and the elderly – improving school infrastructure, sustainable farming practices, health and hygiene, opportunities to diversify livelihoods and enhancing the natural environment.

The close proximity of the villages to our Noida office was an important factor as we needed to carry out regular monitoring and evaluation of the project. To date, we have spent £195k (INR 21.8M) and our employee volunteers have contributed time and technical expertise to support projects, which have had a positive social and environmental impact.

Nikhil Kabra, member of CSR committee at Mott MacDonald India, says: “CSR interventions are most effective when they accentuate a company’s ambition and goals – they should not be standalone projects. In our case, the Utthan project reinforces our purpose, which is to ensure our infrastructure and development work delivers positive social outcomes.”

Anil Chaudhary, village leader, Madanpur and Kalandargarhi, says: “I am grateful for the CSR initiatives undertaken by Mott MacDonald, which have put our villages on the path to sustainability with our communities becoming more informed. Individuals who were previously unaware of basic hygiene and environmental care are now more conscious and responsible. The children have also started adopting better habits, setting examples for others.”

Five priority areas

The Utthan programme focuses on five priority areas, which were identified as part of a needs assessment by our implementation partner, AROH Foundation.

The needs assessment provided detailed information about the challenges facing different members of the community and helped us to design 32 targeted interventions.

Education projects have improved dilapidated school buildings and rural childcare centres, providing adequate seating facilities to children, so that they no longer have to sit on the ground. Schools have improved sanitation facilities with gender-segregated toilets and drinking water facilities. Creating a better learning environment for more than 200 students has helped to reduce absenteeism by 80% and encouraged a 15% to 20% increase in school enrolment.

Skills and livelihood projects have actively promoted women’s economic empowerment, providing financial literacy and business management training to more than 350 women. Support has been provided to create four self-help groups and establish two microenterprises, enabling women to generate independent income and achieve financial self-sufficiency. Also, solar-powered streetlights have improved the safety of women and given them the freedom to leave the house after dark.

Natural farming techniques have helped local farmers to increase the quality and yield of vegetable crops and grains, which has helped to increase their income through the sale of surplus production. Farmers have adopted innovative and sustainable farming techniques, which mitigate the need for synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, reducing costs and preventing soil degradation and damage to ecosystems.

Agriculture tool banks have also been established, providing high-end farming equipment on a nominal rental basis. These centres offer access to machinery for seeding, harvesting, spraying and crop residue management, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable farming practices. These interventions have led to an average productivity increase of 75%.

Water and environmental projects have provided a sustainable supply of drinking water to approximately 3,000 people by developing solar-powered water tanks and filtration systems. Environmental sustainability has also been enhanced by rejuvenating a pond in Madanpur and creating a 6.5 acre park development with 500 trees planted around the villages to improve soil quality, provide shade and contribute to better air quality.

Health and hygiene campaigns have raised awareness about menstrual hygiene, which has led to a 60% increase in the use of sanitary essentials. Health and eye check-ups for adults and children have helped with detection and treatment.

Capacity building of village institutions has been important for the life of the community and will help to sustain improvements after the project has ended. Community information centres were set up and are used by 500 to 600 people per month for community support and access to services, such as banking facilities, information about how to access government benefits and support filling in forms and applications for a nominal fee.

>200 children have benefited from improved school infrastructure and facilities 

75% increase in farm productivity through sustainable practices 

Robust project planning and monitoring

The preparatory phase of a CSR programme has to be strong to get the best outcomes. Selecting the right implementation partner is vital and carrying out a robust needs assessment is important to identify priority areas.

Continuous monitoring is needed to accurately assess the impact of interventions during the project. On the Utthan project, our staff have been responsible for regular monitoring and evaluation throughout the programme lifespan.

We created a dashboard so that people in the business could get real-time information on project interventions and track whether the project is achieving expected targets and key performance indicators.