Lucknow/Mumbai,

25 May (HS): 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.

Devendra

Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, in whose presence the MoU was

signed, said that total CSR contributes nearly Rs. 36,000 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 4–6°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.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi