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MUMBAI: Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India (AKAH) officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Limited (MahaIT). This partnership will potentially enable the agency to further scale habitat improvement and build the resilience of vulnerable communities against heat, drought and flood as well as other impacts of climate change.
Shri Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, in whose presence the MoU was signed, said that total CSR contributes nearly ā¹36,000 crore annually and Maharashtra is the largest contributor of CSR funds. He emphasised the need to ensure these resources are equitably channelled towards leveraging technology across districts in Maharashtra.
Delivering the Opening Remarks, Sanjay Shripatrao Katkar (IAS) stated that the Government of Maharashtra aims to facilitate, rather than regulate, the CSR ecosystem in the state. He highlighted that MahaIT is developing a dedicated CSR platform to enable complete visibility into onboarding, execution, and compliance for corporates, donors, and implementing agencies.
AKAH works to create habitats that allow communities to be resilient to disasters, adapt to climate change, and thrive. MahaIT on the other hand is the nodal agency of the Government of Maharashtra for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), e-Governance, and Digital Governance, responsible for planning, implementation, operation, and capacity building across State departments, local governments, and allied institutions. This MoU between the two is expected to galvanise powerful data-driven risk-responsive strategies in the service of climate-resilient habitats.
Prerana Langa, Chief Executive Officer of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India, believes that the expertise of MahaIT in designing and executing structured initiatives will prove to be invaluable in the near future. She says, "This MoU will further streamline actionable, large-scale implementation within a facilitative, collaborative framework. Through our heat mitigation interventions in informal settlements, schools, and housing societies across Mira Bhayandar and Chandrapur, AKAH India has demonstrated measurable improvements in thermal comfort, with indoor temperatures reduced by up to 4ā6Ā°C in vulnerable communities. This collaboration underscores our commitment to urban habitat risk resilience, biodiversity preservation and water security. Our focus as always will remain on Climatic vulnerable zones and communities on the margins with a special focus on women and children."
On the immediate agenda of both partners are future synergies in heat and flood mitigation, ecosystem-based climate change adaptation, urban greening, energy as well as water efficiency solutions in schools with inclusion of IoT and Smart Technology. The path forward will also include knowledge sharing, exploration of pilots, proof-of-concepts, training and awareness initiatives, research, documentation, and policy insights, co-design of concepts, frameworks along with effective public digital solutions.
