The efforts of building capacity and promoting behavioural changes within communities along with increasing the collective strength of Basti Vikas Manch ("Slum Development Platform") did bring behavioural change among the urban poor, wherein the common mind-set of "accepting what is given" was demystified, and there was a rise in collective action towards demand for right and access to water and sanitation. The effort was however limited to three wards and its sustainability had to be ensure. Therefore, there was a need for scaling up this initiative to more number of wards in the city (horizontal expansion) and then mobilizing the BVMs to create a city level platform (vertical expansion), which will demand the water and sanitation rights of the poor in the city. The vertical expansion was to enable a higher level of confluence towards advocacy on a common issue and the horizontal expansion to increase the strength of BVMs which would offer more room for cross learning. Thus the Phase I of the project was implemented by SaciWATERs with the aim of integrating the horizontal and vertical expansion by creating a platform and stimulate social cohesion that would result in building a social capital which demands and implements its water sanitation rights without external intervention.

The "Citizen's First Campaign on Drinking Water and Sanitation Accountability - Scaling pilots at City level" project primarily concentrated in building capacity and promoting behavioral changes within communities along with increasing the collective strength of Basti Vikas Manch ("Slum Development Platform").

Objectives