Hindustan Unilever and JSW signed a strategic partnership to establish 10 new Suvidha centres in Mumbai.
Launched in 2016, HUL runs 12 Suvidha centres in Mumbai through a public-private partnership with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and HSBC India, impacting 3 lakh people annually.
The agreement signed through JSW Foundation will provide safe and dignified sanitation services to additional 2 lakh people in low-income communities in Mumbai.
The new Suvidha Centres will provide access to safe toilets, purified drinking water, showers and laundry services.
Drinking water will be made available at ₹1 per litre and a monthly pass at ₹150 for a family. The centres will save 300 million litres of water over a decade by greywater recycling methods and will run on solar energy.
The Centres are conceived keeping in mind the safety of women and children through adequate lighting, CCTV cameras, and a panic button for emergencies.
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The centres will be run by staff hired from the nearby communities, thereby building a sense of ownership.
Sangita Jindal, Chairperson, JSW Foundation said the partnership will be fostering a collective social action to further expand the network of Suvidha Centers with the aim to provide fresh drinking water and other sanitation services to low-income communities residing in Mumbai city.
Sanjiv Mehta, Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever said the Suvidha Centres exemplify how innovation and collective action by the public and private sectors can help address urban sanitation challenges.
Iqbal Chahal, Commissioner & Administrator, BMC said the new Suvidha Centres will replicate and scale this model making quality sanitation and hygiene facilities a reality for a larger population in Mumbai.