IIM Indore to help make Lucknow a model city

Lucknow, July 7 (IANS) The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) is set to sign MoUs with Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore to improve its Swachh Survekshan rankings.

It will also help the city achieve the cherished goals as part of the three-year-long pacts that will be signed on Friday.

"The overall objective of the MoUs is to develop Lucknow as the model city. The MoUs propose to not only propel the local economy but also help Lucknow learn the best sanitation practices," said an official.

The pact with the administration is also concentrated around bringing a dynamic shift in the dwindling fortunes of Lucknow's Chikan Handicraft Industry and its workers, largely female workers, who spend hours in the intricate handcrafting of traditional garments.

The pact will help the traditional hand embroidery craft, get better global exposure.

The pact envisages a range of activities and training that will upskill the workers in enhancing their craft and using new-age tools to market their products under the One District One Product (ODOP) project of the state government that aims to encourage indigenous and specialised products district-wise.

During the course of three years, a team of experts from IIM Indore will train and handhold the workers and also connect with the ace designing institutes to facilitate the learning of new skills and techniques. This, the officials say, will modernise this traditional craft.

Also, the focus will be on making artisans and the Self-Employed Women's Association (Sewa) self-reliant in managing their finances.

"Upskilling of the artisans, connecting them with leading designing institutes, and expanding the reach of the products is the focus area. Besides, we will also be focusing on training women on financial literacy and helping them become financially independent. This will help them get out of the clutches of the local money lenders and avail institutional credit," said IIM-Indore director Himanshu Rai.

The second pact will be the LMC with an objective of building new strategies to accomplish the targets of the Swachh Bharat Mission and improve the overall sanitation status of the city.

Under this pact, IIM-Indore will work on two aspects. One would be to devise a ward-wise plan for Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) strategies to foster behavioural change among the residents and take the message of a clean neighbourhood to every household in a more effective manner.

The second aspect is the capacity building of the corporation officials and hand holding them in adopting best practices that helped Indore bag the cleanest city title for six times in a row.

"In line with our approach in districts like Ayodhya and Kanpur, we will devise a ward-wise strategy after mapping the specific issues. We will also help enhance the capacities of the officials to replicate best governance models," Rai added.