Strategizing CSR for Sustainable Development

CORORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

OPPORTUNITIES EMERGING FROM
NATIONAL WATER POLICY, 2012
by

by

Dr. MUKESH KUMAR SINHA

CHIEF ENGINEER,
CENTRAL WATER COMMISSION,
MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES,
RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

Government of India

Water a vital resource

Essential for:
Life

Living
Livelihood

Vital for economic development

Crucial for:
Food security
Energy security

National Security

Water essential for inclusive growth

Water related works most important
see MGNAREGA expenditure

Works (in Rs. Lakhs)

120

100
80

Other Works
60

Rural Sanitation

40

Water conservation

20
0

YEAR
Source: MGNAREGA Report to the People; 2nd February, 2015

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Section 135 Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 specifies
Activities for CSR

Schedule
VII
amended
vide
notification
dated
February, 2014, 6th August, 2014 and 24th October, 2014

27th

Circular dated 18th June, 2014 clarified that entries must be

interpreted liberally so as to capture the essence of the subjects

Water is
associated
with almost
all activities
of CSR

CSR and WATER

Sl.
No.

CSR Activities

Role of Water

(i)

Eradicating
hunger,
poverty
and Irrigation increases food
malnutrition,
promoting
preventive
product-ivity ensuring food
health care and sanitation including
security
contribution to the Swach Bharat Kosh Potable water supply and
set-up by the Central Government for
sanitation eliminates water
the promotion of sanitation and making
borne
diseases
and
available safe drinking water
consequently
improves
health and livelihood.

(ii)

Promoting education, including special Water supports all economic

education and employment enhancing
activities including livelihood
vocation skills especially among
enhancement projects.
children, women, elderly, and the
differently
abled
and
livelihood
enhancement projects

CSR and WATER

Sl.
No.

CSR Activities

Role of Water

(iii)

Promoting gender equality, empowering Access to water within easy

women, setting up homes and hostels
reach of the household frees
for women and orphans; setting up old
women from daily chores
age homes, day care centres and such
facilitating gender equality
other facilities for senior citizens and
measures for reducing inequalities
faced by socially and economically
backward groups

(iv)

Ensuring environmental sustainability, Conservation and efficient

ecological balance, protection of flora
use of water resources
and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry,
ensures
environmental
conservation of natural resources and
sustainability as well as
maintaining quality of soil, air and water
preservation of water quality
including contribution to the Clean
Ganga Fund setup by the Central
Government for rejuvenation of river
Ganga

CSR and WATER

Sl.
No.

CSR Activities

(x)

Rural development projects

(xi)

Slum area development

Role of Water
Water conservation; Repair, renovation
and restoration of water bodies,
providing and improving irrigation, water
supply and sanitation facilities are
primary
rural
and
slum
area
development projects.

NATIONAL WATER POLICY (NWP), 2012

Adopted by the National Water Resources Council (NWRC)

headed by the Prime Minister with Union Ministers dealing
with water and Chief Ministers of all States as Members,

Identifies

basic concerns, suggests basic principles and

recommends policies for sustainable management of water
resources,

Emphasizes

on pre-emptive needs of potable drinking

water and sanitation, ecological integrity, community
participation, demand management, climate change
resilience, sustainability, etc.

Opens up many options for Corporate Social Responsibility

for repaying back to the society

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES

Sl.
No.

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Ensure access to a Provision of

minimum quantity of water supply
potable water for
essential health and
hygiene to all its
citizens,
available
within easy reach of
the household

Example

BASF
India
Ltd.,
a
chemical company, in
partnership
with
UNHABITAT and Foundation
for Ecological Research
Advocacy and Learning
(FERAL) installed four
community hand pumps
in
the
village
Singarakuppam
in
Cuddalore,
supplying
clean and potable water
to 180 families.

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.
2

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Example

Community
based
water management be
institutionalized and
strengthened

Formation
and capacity
building
of
Water Users
Associations
(WUA)

Bilt
Graphic
Paper
Products Ltd, Bhigwan,
Pune helped formation
and capacity building of
4
WUAs
with
885
members

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.
3

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Increasing
water Creation
of
storage in its various ponds, tanks,
forms, namely, soil etc.
moisture,
ponds,
ground water, small
and large reservoirs,
and their combination

Example
Hindustan Construction
Co. Ltd. Converted a 400
sq m low lying land to
create an artificial pond
with a capacity of 1,614
CM adjacent to Delhi
Faridabad
Elevated
Expressway.

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.
4

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Example

Methods
like
aligning
cropping
pattern
with
natural
resource
endowments,
micro
irrigation (drip, sprinkler,
etc.), automated irrigation
operation,
evaporationtranspiration
reduction,
etc., should be encouraged
and incentivized.

Assisting
farmers
to
adopt microirrigation

Zuari
Agro
Chemicals Limited,
in association with
Drip Tech India, has
installed low cost
drip
irrigation
system at Succor,
Bardez Goa.

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.
5

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Example

Artificial
recharging
projects should be
undertaken
to
augment groundwater,
provide base flows to
the surface system,
and maintain ecology.

Check dams,
Artificial
recharge,
rainwater
harvesting,
etc.

L&T
constructed
a
multitiered
water
conservation
system
comprising two storage
tanks, filtration chamber
and a recharge-well for
harvesting rainwater and
facilitating
artificial
recharge in Rajpura,
Punjab. The two storage
tanks have a total
capacity of 7,694 cu. m.
The rainwater harvesting
system has the potential
of
recharging
over
500,000 cu. m. of water
annually.

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.
6

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Integrated
Integrated
Watershed
watershed
development
management,
activities
to
increase
soil
moisture,
reduce
sediment yield and
increase
overall
land
and
water
productivity.

Example
Zuari Agro Chemicals
Limited
initiated
a
watershed
development
project by constructing
various water harvesting
structures and undertook
contour
bunding
and
regeneration of biomass
cover
etc.,
in
Kohinkarwadi village in
Pune, Maharashtra

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.
7

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Example

Conservation of rivers,
river
corridors,
water
bodies and infrastructure
should be undertaken in a
scientifically
planned
manner
through
community participation.

River
rejuvenation,
Repair,
Rejuvenation
& Restoration
of
water
bodies

The Art of Living

has revived Rena
river and other
water bodies under
Jal
Jagruti
Abhiyaan

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Example

Emphasis
on
preparedness for
flood / drought with
coping
mechanisms as an
option.

Rehabilitation,
Flood
proof
shelters, coping
strategies
for
flood
and
droughts

Jindal Steel and Power

Limited, with Habitat for
Humanity India (HFHI),
launched Project Gulzar:
Sustainable
and
Dignified Housing for
Flood Affected Families
of Kashmir to re-build 20
homes for the flood
affected people in the
Kashmir.

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.
9.

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Example

Industries in water short

regions may be allowed
to either withdraw only
the make up water or
should
have
an
obligation
to
return
treated effluent to a
specified standard back
to the hydrologic system.

Effluent
treatment for
social
forestry, etc.

Servalakshmi Paper
Limited treats its
waste water for use
in social forestry
development and no
water is let into any
fresh water streams.

NWP, 2012 AND CSR OPPORTUNITIES contd

Sl.
No.

NWP, 2012
Recommendations

CSR
Opportunities

Example

10.

To meet the need of

the skilled manpower
in the water sector,
regular training and
academic courses in
water
management
should be promoted.

Water
management
extension
services, training,
capacity building,
Information
Centres, etc.

ITC
Limiteds
echoupal concept can
be replicated based
on local specific
needs.

THANK YOU