Amla Ruia | |
---|---|
Nationality | Indian |
Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, Water Activist and Educationist |
Amla Ashok Ruia is an Indian environmentalist known for her work in water harvesting.
Ruia was inspired by severe droughts in 1999/2000 and 2003 to improve water harvesting in Rajasthan villages. [1] [2] She founded the Aakar Charitable Trust(ACT) to partner with villages to build check dams that provide water security. [3]
Her first check dam project was in Mandawar village, [1] Rajasthan, which was a success. Farmers managed to earn up to 120 million rupees in a year via the two check dams built by Aakar Charitable Trust. [1] By the end of 2017, Aakar Charitable Trust had built more than 200 check dams in more than 115 villages in Rajasthan, with flow-on effects to almost 200 other villages. [4] [5] [6] The Trust provides 60-70% of the resources required to construct each check dam, while the village where the dam is sited provides 30-40% of resources, participates in its construction, and is responsible for its maintenance. [3] [4] The check dams allow the aquifers to be replenished during the monsoon, so that bore wells and hand-pumps are recharged. [4] Villagers have been able to grow up to three crops per year and keep livestock. [1] [3] [4] Ruia estimates that the resulting increased income gives a 750% return on the investment in the check dams. [3] |Girls are able to attend school, as they no longer need to help their mothers carry water from long distances, [4] and students can undertake tertiary education. [3] Ruia is popularly known as Paani Mata ("Water Mother"). [1] [7]
Ruia and her team have extended their efforts in other states such as Madhya Pradesh, [1] [5] Maharashtra, [1] [5] Odisha, [5] and the Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh, [1] [5] and have plans to expand into Bihar, [2] Haryana, [2] Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh.
In 2011, Ruia was awarded a Lakshmipat Singhania - IIM Lucknow National Leadership Award in the category of Community Service and Social Upliftment. [8] [9] In 2016, she was nominated for the Women of Worth Social Award category. [6] In 2018, she received the India Eye International Human Rights Observer Achievement Award 2018. [10]
Amla Ruia was born in Uttar Pradesh. [11] She currently lives in Malabar Hill, Mumbai, Maharashtra. [12]
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