ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the experiences of two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India namely, the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and Saath that have participated in a multiple-stakeholder pro-poor electrification programme that has electrified in the city of Ahmedabad and is currently being replicated in other smaller cities in Gujarat and the neighboring state of Rajasthan. The SEWA was founded in Ahmedabad to organize women in the informal sector for better working conditions and social security provisions. Saath is a smaller NGO based in Ahmedabad with a mandate to improve access to health, education, infrastructure services, and livelihoods options for the urban poor. The Gujarat Mahila SEWA Housing Trust (MHT) and Saath regrouped the community-based organizations (CBOs) that had been formed as part of the Slum Networking Project (SNP) for the slum electrification project. CBOs assumed the responsibilities in the slum electrification project: motivating slum dwellers to access legal electrification, submitting applications to Ahmedabad Electricity Company on behalf of slum residents.
