Inclusive Disaster Relief for Jharkhand’s Transgender Community 

Souvik Saha | Jharkhand 

Floods, heatwaves, and unpredictable rainfall are increasingly affecting communities across Jharkhand, yet transgender people remain largely unrecognized in the state’s disaster preparedness and response systems. Souvik’s project aims to change that by bringing transgender leaders and their lived experiences into disaster planning. The project will work toward statewide measures that strengthen access to safe shelters, emergency food and health care, evacuation support, and post-disaster assistance for transgender people – with the potential to improve disaster response for nearly 15,000 transgender people across Jharkhand. 

Girls Climate Parliament: Anjani River Basin Governance Initiative 

Dheeraj Sharma | Maharashtra 

In villages along Maharashtra’s Anjani River Basin, water scarcity, irregular rainfall, and agricultural uncertainty are reshaping daily life – and often increasing girls’ responsibilities for collecting water, household care, and agricultural work. Yet girls rarely have opportunities to contribute to the decisions being made in response. Building on a successful pilot, Dheeraj’s project will engage 200 adolescent girls to document local climate and water challenges, develop solutions, and bring their recommendations to local decision-makers. The project ultimately seeks to establish a model for integrating girls’ perspectives into local climate and water planning that could be expanded across the Jalgaon district. 

Strengthening Occupational Heat Resilience for Sanitation Workers in Jodhpur 

Payal Sharma | Rajasthan 

When summer temperatures in Jodhpur climb above 113°F, sanitation workers still have to work outdoors – often without consistent access to shade, water, rest breaks, cooling infrastructure, or occupational health services. Payal’s project will work with sanitation workers and city institutions to develop and test stronger protections across 37 wards. The goal is to incorporate the specific needs of the city’s approximately 3,500-4,000 sanitation workers, more than half of whom are women, into Jodhpur’s approach to extreme heat – creating a citywide model for safer working conditions as temperatures rise. 

“Harit Vidyalaya, Surakshit Bhavishya” (Green Schools, Secure Future) 

Kundan Pramanik | Jharkhand 

Heatwaves, floods, drought, and environmental degradation are already disrupting education in Jharkhand, with girls and children from tribal communities facing heightened risks. Yet climate education and preparedness are not consistently built into the state’s school system. Kundan’s project aims to change that by working with students, communities, and education officials to develop a statewide approach to ensure climate-friendly schools. The project seeks to establish regular climate learning and School Climate Action Committees across government-run and -aided schools – potentially strengthening climate knowledge and preparedness for millions of students across Jharkhand. 

Her Land, Her Forest, Her Water: Advocacy for Women’s Land Rights 

Kumaribai Samkatan | Maharashtra 

Women are central to agriculture across rural Maharashtra, yet many are still not formally recognized as farmers – limiting their access to land records, credit, government programs, forest rights, and decisions about water. Kumaribai’s project will work with more than 500 women across five districts to build knowledge and leadership, document barriers women farmers face, and bring that evidence to decision-makers. At a pivotal moment for the recognition of women farmers in India, the project seeks to help ensure that new systems meaningfully connect women farmers with access to land, forest, and water resources. 

Climate Resilience and Safe Migration for Latur’s Migrant Workers 

Balasaheb Suryawanshi | Maharashtra 

Recurring drought, declining groundwater, and falling agricultural productivity are pushing thousands of workers in Latur to migrate seasonally in search of livelihoods. But without systems to track that migration, workers – particularly women and marginalized communities – can lose access to documentation, benefits, and other essential support. Balasaheb’s project will organize migrant workers, document their experiences, and work with local institutions to establish migration tracking within village planning. The project aims to create a stronger system for identifying and supporting an estimated 45,000 climate-affected migrant workers across the district. 

HeatSafe Sites: A Gender-Responsive Heat Protocol for Construction Workers 

Riya Thakur | Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh 

For women working on construction sites in Noida and Greater Noida, rising temperatures are more than a climate issue – they are a workplace health and safety issue. Long hours in extreme heat, combined with inadequate water, sanitation, shade, and rest facilities, can create serious risks, particularly during pregnancy. Riya’s project will work directly with women construction workers and government, health, labor, and industry stakeholders to develop practical protections for extreme heat. The goal is to establish a district-wide protocol that makes construction sites safer for women and creates a model that could be replicated elsewhere. 

Jharkhand Panchayat Samriddhi: Panchayat-Led Climate Resilient Agriculture 

Prem Shankar | Jharkhand 

For Jharkhand’s small and marginal farmers, water insecurity and declining soil health threaten both agricultural productivity and livelihoods. Prem’s project looks to the local government as part of the solution. By documenting successful approaches and bringing together farmers, women’s collectives, community organizations, and government institutions, the project will work toward a statewide framework enabling Gram Panchayats – local governing bodies at the village level – to plan and manage water-harvesting structures and Bio-Input Resource Centers. If successful, the approach could embed climate-resilient agricultural practices and decentralized water and soil management into local planning systems across more than 4,300 Gram Panchayats throughout Jharkhand. 

Waste Workers Welfare, Inclusion and Climate Resilience Initiative 

Sudha Kumari | Haryana 

Informal waste workers play a critical role in managing the waste generated by communities across Haryana, while often facing income insecurity, hazardous materials, injuries, infections, extreme heat, and limited access to workplace protections and social benefits. Women waste workers face additional barriers to having a voice in the decisions and systems that shape their work. Sudha’s project will bring waste workers together to document these challenges, strengthen women’s leadership, increase awareness of available protections, and engage local and state institutions. The goal is to strengthen implementation of existing protections and more fully include informal waste workers in Haryana’s municipal waste-management systems.