Centre for Sustainable Governance
Sustainable Governance has assumed new importance in the light of the realities of today’s governance environment. Sustainability of governance in this context does not only refer to the balancing of developmental needs against ecological limitations, but also takes into account financial, technological, and socio-cultural constraints, to encompass a holistic model of governance and development.
With this growing awareness of the need for sustainability, and to cater to the particular requirements of local administrative bodies, the Centre for Sustainable Governance was established in the All India Institute of Local Self-Government in March 2019 with a mandate to identify gaps in the current governance structures and practices, suggest sustainable solutions, and engage in policy advocacy in key developmental areas.
The Centre is currently undertaking projects across various sectors including Water Resources, Sanitation, Urban Planning and Development, and capacity enhancement of government functionaries, among others, and has taken the initiative to expand the reach of the AIILSG to rural areas, starting with the issue of Rural Sanitation.
Some of the currently ongoing projects of the Centre are:
- Fire Prevention and Life Safety
- Welfare of Sanitation Workers
- Election ward mapping
- Right to Information
- Rural Sanitation – “Beyond ODF”
The Centre identified Fire Prevention and Life Safety as one of the first initiatives it wished to take up. As a first step, the CSG organised initial meetings and roundtable consultations with key stakeholders including the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the Electrical Inspection Department, and Urban Development Department of the Government of Maharashtra, and experts on Fires and Fire Safety. Based on the discussion at the meetings, a proposal was sent to the State Government, and they have constituted a Working Group on Fire Safety chaired by the Director, CSG. This GR will enable the CSG to forge partnerships with funding agencies and other entities pursing similar goals of fire safety.
With the issues of manual scavenging and the welfare and safety of Sanitation Workers in mind, the CSG organised a workshop on Prevention of Hazardous Cleaning of Sewers and Septic Tanks on 3rd May 2019 along with the RCUES and the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC). Subsequent city level workshops have been conducted for Municipal Authorities in Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, and Solapur, with more being planned for the subsequent months. The CSG successfully engaged with the Department of Social Justice and Commissioner Social Justice in these workshops and a consensus emerged to evolve a strategy to implement the Manual Scavengers Act more effectively.
GIS based mapping of enumeration blocks (as per Census 2011) and electoral wards for elections at Gram Panchayat, Urban Local Bodies, Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti was carried out for villages, towns & districts in Maharashtra State.
Having identified the capacity building of Government Officers to address the issues and challenges under the Right to Information Act as a key focus area, the Centre organised two ‘One Day’s Training Programmes’ on the topic of ‘Transparency in Governance- Right to Information’ on 10th May and 7th June, at the Andheri campus of the All India Institute of Local Self-Governance. These training programmes were attended by a large number of staff from Government Departments and major PSUs of Government of India and Government of Maharashtra, as well as Municipal Corporations. More such programmes are proposed in the future.
The CSG, in consultation with the Water Supply and Sanitation Department of the Govt. of Maharashtra, and supported by the UNICEF Maharashtra, is carrying out a Project on the Planning of ODF Sustainability and Solid and Liquid Resource Management in Rural Maharashtra. The project is aimed at preparing a costed plan for Solid and Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) in six representative villages in Maharashtra which can then be replicated in similar villages elsewhere. A State Level Workshop has been held in June 2019 at Mumbai, and the project is currently in the field activity stage. All activities are aimed to be completed by March 2020.
Contact Details:
Centre for Sustainable Governance
All India Institute of Local Self-Government,
11/13, Botawala Building, 3rd Floor, Horniman Circle, Opp. Town Hall, Fort, Mumbai – 400 001
Telephone: (022) 22661910 / 2957
Email:dir.csg@aiilsg.org