ITC has taken huge strides towards #EmpoweringRuralIndia, of which providing safe drinking water is a significant initiative.
The Company has set up Reverse Osmosis (RO) water purification plants in several villages in Andhra Pradesh where the existing water source is of poor quality. As many as 66 RO plants have been constructed till date, providing safe drinking water to 70,990 rural people.
Several villages of Andhra Pradesh suffer from acute problems related to water quality like high percentage of dissolved solids, excessive concentrations of fluoride and arsenic, and presence of nitrates and heavy metals, resulting in widespread water borne diseases.Â
Understanding the overarching need for providing safe drinking water to the rural community, ITC Limited has designed a programme aimed at achieving low-cost scalable solutions, serving "self-sustainable safe water for all."
ITC employs a community-based operating model involving the Village Panchayat (local council) and the local communities. An operational assistant is employed for each Water Purification Plant. The community pays for the purified water and the money collected is used for maintenance, thereby making it a self-sustainable operating model.