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Winning
I have understood how
a developmental scheme
is carried out; the deciding
factors behind its success
or failure; the influence of
community ownership; and
the power of information,
education and communication.”
Aishwarya Alexander, prerak
Nalanda, Bihar
TATA WATER MISSION - A Tata Trusts InitiativeA Tata Trusts Initiative
4 4 TATA WATER MISSION -
big
Involving the community helped
tilt the scales in favour of Aishwarya
Alexander and the Swachh Bharat
Mission team, in their battle against
open defecation in Bihar’s nalanda
district
g rowing up in Patna, Aishwarya
Alexander, 25, developed an interest
in environmental issues during her
school days. After completing her civil
engineering from the Allahabad Agricultural
Institute, and a post graduate degree in ecology
and environmental studies from Nalanda
University in Rajgir, she zeroed in on the
water sector. “I realised that the engineering-
centric approach of mitigating environmental
issues — specifically those related to water and
sanitation — was a big failure in developing
countries,” she recalls.
Aishwarya therefore decided to focus
on sustainable community interventions in
this area. Enrolling for the ZSBP (Zila Swachh
Bharat Prerak) programme in March 2017
was the opportunity she had been looking
for — to closely understand how government-
led WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene)
programmes were executed, and the role of
community engagement in making these work.
A Whole neW chAllenge
The conditions in Nalanda district weren’t
exactly helpful to begin with. The district
administration had focused entirely on toilet
coverage targets, with very little done on
the community mobilisation aspect. One of
the reasons was limited manpower. Block
co-ordinators, the only people on the ground,