Urbanism: Spatial Utopia and Contested Realities

Partner: Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative   Key Words: 73rd Amendment, Local Democracy, Last Mile Governance and E-Governance (Digital Literacy), Women’s leadership through SHG, livelihood   Context: In the current information age, Internet, with its enabling, facilitating and wealth creating potential, it has become a powerful enabler to enhance the quality of life by brining equity in many spheres. The key barriers to digital inclusion are lack of affordable access ,…

October 2015 to September 2018 Supported by Azim Premaji Philanthropic Initiative    In the current information age, Internet, with its enabling, facilitating and wealth creating potential, it has become a powerful enabler to enhance the quality of life by brining equity in many spheres. The key barriers to digital inclusion are lack of affordable access , poor  quality or absent last mile infrastructure, lack of digital literacy, and lack of…

Ford Foundation Palghar was carved out of Thane district and  was recently minted (August 2014)  as a tribal district in state of Maharashtra that is located  about 120-140 KMs north of Mumbai city along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.  Skirted by Gujrat on the north and northwest  and Nasik and Thane on North East and Northwest, Palghar is home to landowners belonging to Agri and Kunabi ethnicity (OBC) and tribal (Adivasi)* who…