Chicholi Village, Betul District, March 27, 2015

• Large Integrated Water Resource Management project aims to improve availability of water to farmers for agriculture throughout the year and increase productivity
• Initiative to positively impact 5200 families from across 38 villages of Chicholi and Shahpur block, Betul District
• Improved access to safe drinking water to over 3700 families
• Action for Social Advancement to implement the project

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. has joined hands with Action for Social Advancement, Gram Panchayat, local community and other stakeholders to implement Integrated Watershed Project covering 38 villages of Chicholi and Shahpur block of Betul district in Madhya Pradesh. Executed over five years, the project is aimed at enhancing livelihoods of approximately 5200 families or 30000 populations.

As mark of World Water Day celebration, ground breaking ceremony was organized at Chuna Hujuri village is Shahpur block to commence the work on this project in the presence of a large number of villagers, elected representatives of Panchayat, officials from District Administration, officials from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages and Action for Social Advancement.

Speaking on the collaboration, Mr. Kalyan Ranjan, Associate Vice President – PAC, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., said, “This is by far the biggest watershed project that we have supported in India. We at Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, are fully committed to the cause of water resource management. We are always keen to partner with various stakeholders in the area of water stewardship that help people get improved access to water. Water is a social and economic catalyst and we are delighted to have been a part of this initiative meant to significantly improve the agriculture and livelihood of a large number of families spread over these 38 villages. In ASA, we have found a valuable partner to implement this project”.

Mr. Ashis Mondal, Director – ASA said, “We have been working in this area and extremely happy that Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages is supporting this project. On behalf of ASA and local community, I am assuring the company that their support will go a very long way in improving the socio-economic conditions of the people of these 38 villages”.

The main objective of the project is to promote integrated and community based natural resources development for enhancing livelihoods of the people of the area with special emphasis on sustainable water management and sustainable agriculture. The project is spread over 38 villages of Chicholi and Shahpur block of Betul district of M.P. Approximately 5200 families or over 30000 populations belonging to the tribal community (over 75%, & rest from the other marginalized groups) shall benefit from the project and overall the ecosystem of the area will be rejuvenated.

The primary occupation of the locals is agriculture but the production of food crops for subsistence dominates agriculture. The average annual rainfall for Betul District is sufficient for agriculture (1083.9 mm), however, it is extremely erratic and the district is prone to the incidence of consecutive years of drought. Only 27% of the net cropped area has irrigation facility mainly due to low public and private investment on water resources development.

The initiatives will focus on land and water resources development; promotion of good agriculture practices such as sustainable cropping, improved water conservation and ground water recharge amongst the farmers; and organization and development of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) including farmer producer companies for market linkages and other services. The project will follow the strategy of participatory development and thus the community shall be involved right from the planning, implementation and post project management. Village level planning of natural resources, development of SHGs and Users’ Groups for water and other resource management (viz. Forest conservation), linkages with the Gram Panchayat for the convergence of MGNREGS1 fund, and linkage with the line departments of the Government for convergence of their schemes shall be the key strategies to achieve the objectives of the project.

The impact of the project will be seen in improved ground water condition and community management systems around water both demand and supply, increased income from agriculture, improved Human Development indices like health, education, housing, etc. and finally, capable community institutions managing local affairs related to natural resources of the area particularly water management. The project is also designed to improve access to safe drinking water for 3700 families.

About Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, is the largest bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company in India. It is part of the The Coca-Cola Company’s Bottling Investment Group (BiG) and responsible for the manufacture, package, sale and distribution of beverages under the trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company. The Company has always placed high value on good citizenship. For further information on the Company’s India operations and its products, please visit www.hindustancoca-cola.com.

For further details please contact:

Akash Batra
abatra@perfectrelations.com
+91 9999786118

Sushant Mahajan
shirendramahajan@coca-cola.in
+91 9011370019

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1 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, a universal scheme to guarantee 100 days of wage employment per family per year for rural infrastructure development including land and water resources development.