I S S U E 1 : A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 �1International Innovation Corps + Mission Garima

August 2015

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Mission Garima, a collaborative project between Tata Trusts and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), aims to eliminate unsafe, unhygienic, and undignified practices in urban sanitation work throughout Mumbai. The initiative currently focuses on five key objectives: improved health outcomes for workers, better occupational safety practices, more effective infrastructure and processes for solid waste management (SWM), more user-friendly equipment and technology, and a robust communications campaign that will mobilize local communities in support of the Mission.

Mumbai’s L ward, which encompasses much of the neighborhood of Kurla, will serve as Mission Garima’s pilot ward. Process improvements successful in L ward will then be replicated and scaled to other wards throughout the city.

The International Innovation Corps (IIC) team brings together a truly interdisciplinary group of creative and analytical individuals committed to supporting Mission Garima’s objectives. Our experiences range from designing urban cities to working in emergency rooms and the government of Bihar to producing movies and documentaries. The team is committed to thoroughly analyzing and evaluating current practices in Kurla’s SWM and sewer operations systems, after which it will work hand-in-hand with both Tata Trusts and MCGM in identifying and piloting innovative, yet practical and scalable, interventions.

P R OJ E CT OV E RV I E W

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Arrival Our team started in India with two weeks of training in Delhi, where we had the privilege of staying in a fancy hotel with an inexhaustible breakfast selection while having hotel staff cater to our every need.

And then, on August 1, we landed in Mumbai.

Mumbai: the land of absolutely-nothing-is-handed-to-you-on-a-silver-platter. From apartment hunting, to managing to squeeze ourselves onto the packed local railways, to restricting ourselves to 100-rupee meals as we waited for our stipends to arrive, August was a reminder that the year ahead was not meant to be a stroll in the park.

Learning Despite our struggles outside work, the team managed to make significant progress in understanding Kurla’s solid waste management system through numerous stakeholder

interviews. We met regularly with Sneha Dicholkar from Tata Trusts and Prashant Sapkale, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai’s L Ward, who were both extremely helpful in broadening our understanding of the problem and connecting us to other resources. In addition to speaking with about 25 MCGM employees, junior overseers, and sanitation workers, the team also met with NGO’s and startups in the area working for the betterment of the city’s sanitation workers through training programs and decentralized waste management programs.

Challenges There are countless hurdles to achieving effective SWM and sewer systems that ensure sound occupational practices for sanitation workers in Kurla. Social prejudices, incompatible equipment and dustbin design, absence of robust accountability and feedback mechanisms in waste management contracts: these only scratch the very surface of Kurla’s sanitation problem.

What’s more, each stakeholder has his or her own vested interest, and these interests don’t necessarily align in ways that create an efficient system. A poorly designed system then leads to unfavorable behavior on the part of citizens - and the vicious cycle goes on. Therefore, we are committed to gaining a deep understanding of each stakeholder’s motivations and interests before making any interventions.

The team temporarily meets in Parushya’s friend’s apartment

F I R ST T H I N G S F I R ST: U N D E R STA N D I N G

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1. MCGM workers only make up a small percentage of urban sanitation workers. As shown in the process and people map above, MCGM only manages a small percentage of the city’s waste, making it only one of many stakeholders in the system. MCGM workers generally work in better conditions than SMPA and independent workers, with better facilities and benefits, so any interventions will need to address not just MCGM workers, but the entire sanitation worker population.

2. As shown above, the city runs into major difficulties with the SMPA system. This refers to the system by which MCGM contracts out NGO’s for the cleaning of slums, as these are mostly informal settlements. Some of these NGO’s might be politically affiliated, and currently there are loopholes in monitoring their performance. It will be important to study other municipal contracting models to understand how Kurla’s SMPA system can be further improved.

3. Waste separation can go a long way. When waste is separated at the source, it gains value and can be sold to recyclers, made into biogas, or composted. Mixed waste, however, is prone to deleterious contamination. Separation thus allows for decentralized management of waste at smaller plants, reducing transport costs and the volume of waste going to dumping grounds. It can also serve as an additional source of income for workers.

4. There is an interest in intermediate technology and equipment, but only to the extent that it is user-friendly and context-specific. Kurla has diverse terrain with many narrow alleyways that make accessibility difficult for conventional vehicles and machinery. Additionally, the climate, particularly the monsoon season, renders use of some machinery futile and much of the current personal protective equipment uncomfortable and ineffective. Any technological interventions should therefore be prototyped repeatedly before adoption.

K E Y TA K E AWAY SFour lessons we’ve learned in the past month

SMPA and RSY refer to contracts given to NGO’s by MCGM to clean slums and more formal settlements, respectively

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WASTE SEGREGATION Garbage segregated at the source reduces the amount of contaminants in waste being managed by sanitation workers and provides an alternative source of income for recyclers. Behavioral principles and design thinking can be employed to nudge people towards sustainable waste handling decisions.

DECENTRALIZED WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DSWM) DSWM ensures safe disposal of waste on a community level and reduces the burden on overfilled municipal dumping grounds. Small-scale waste-to-energy technologies can also generate additional income for housing societies and institutions.

COMMUNICATIONS & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT An effective communications strategy that actively engages Mumbaikars regularly can improve not only the way sanitation workers are perceived, but also their occupational safety, if better household waste handling practices are adopted. Redesigning and reimagining of spaces and facilities, including work stations (chowkis) and dustbins, can also be considered.

TECHNOLOGICAL INTERVENTION Opportunities include machinery and equipment on the job that can reduce or eliminate manual intervention as well as mobile apps and smart cards that increase accountability in pay and benefit transfers for contract workers. Employment of common resources like rickshaws can also be explored.

REMUNERATION & ACCOUNTABILITY The remuneration and benefits to which contract workers are entitled are often discounted due to various social and political factors. A more robust system of pay and benefit transfer with increased accountability for contractual workers can make sure that money goes to the right place.

Though the team has much more to learn, five initial work streams were identified from our research and site visits based on our evaluation of each one’s scalability, relevance to Mission Garima, and availability of resources for research and implementation. As we experiment with possible ideas and discuss them with both Tata Trusts and MCGM in the next month, we hope to further narrow down our scope and also pick a more specific location within Kurla for our pilots. For now, here are our initial ideas:

WO R K ST R E A M S

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LOOKING FORWARD • Discussion of possible work streams with Tata

Trusts and MCGM to narrow down project scope • Finalization of pilot site within Kurla • Preliminary documentation of chosen pilot site • Pilot research and planning with the help of

stakeholder as well as expert advice • Exposure visits within India to determine best

practices across municipalities

“Safaiwalon ke saath, Mumbai ka haath" On the morning of Saturday, 22 August, approximately 200 volunteers from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tata Trusts gathered at the motor loader’s chowki in Nehru Nagar, Kurla, in order to identify opportunities to support sanitation workers with new machinery as well as improved processes. Volunteers dispersed to 9 different sites, where they discussed challenges and potential solutions with junior overseers, sanitation workers, and even local residents.

The team assisted the Trusts in conducting site assessments prior to the event, getting clearances from relevant authorities, and drafting and delivering invitations for MCGM’s top officials. (Janey and Nikita thoroughly enjoyed exploring the ornate Gothic design of the MCGM head office.) On the day of the event, the team had the opportunity to interact with volunteers, MCGM employees, and machine vendors (actively trying to sell their products to anyone and everyone who looked like an event organizer).

The event launched what aims to be a sustained effort in better understanding sanitation workers and their work cycles, making it an excellent introduction to Mission Garima for TCS and the team.

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SPECIAL THANKS

Sneha Dicholkar, Tata Trusts Manisha Bhinge, Tata Trusts Siddharth Gogoi, Tata Trusts Prashant Sapkale and staff, MCGM Dr. Anjali Sastry, MIT

Jyoti Mhapsekar, Stree Mukti Sanghatana Sundeep Kapila, Swasth Foundation Debartha Banerjee, Sampurn(e)arth Ayush Chauhan, Quicksand Nicole Anderson, IIC

CO N C LU S I O NAugust was a crucial month dedicated to understanding existing practices in SWM. We sought to observe, critically question, and prioritize work streams in a way that would support Mission Garima’s objectives. We are extremely grateful for the stakeholders we interviewed and have gained important insights from them that will prove essential to our work ahead.

In September, the team hopes to finalize two or three specific work streams in collaboration with Tata Trusts and MCGM. Ideally, these work streams would include a mix of implementation-focused projects as well as more high-level policy recommendations. We will also be choosing a more specific neighborhood within Kurla that demonstrates a diversity of socio-economic classes as well as living arrangements (ie. formal housing societies versus slums). These pilots will require intense primary and secondary research, making further stakeholder interviews, site visits, and exposure visits outside Mumbai all the more important. Collaboration with Tata Trusts and MCGM will be especially critical in this month as we develop research and pilot plans that are unique and innovative, but also practical and grounded in reality.

CONTACT US

We would love to hear from you! Visit our website at iic-missiongarima.strikingly.com or email us at iic-mg@googlegroups.com with any comments or ideas.

All views expressed in this newsletter belong to the IIC Mission Garima Team. These views are not necessarily shared by the International Innovation Corps program, Tata Trusts, MCGM, or the University of Chicago.

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