‘When we stop asking 'Who will fix this?’: Anand Mahindra praises Maharashtra town's people who revived a dying river and won Rs 1 crore prize

River restoration can change more than the course of water. It can also reshape how people see the places they call home. Anand Mahindra highlighted one such transformation in Maharashtra as his Monday Motivation, praising the collective effort behind the revival of the Kham River in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Once treated by many residents as a sewage drain, the seasonal river has undergone a major restoration effort involving citizens, civic authorities, NGOs and other stakeholders, turning neglected stretches into public spaces.

Anand Mahindra's Monday Motivation

Anand Mahindra took to X to share his Monday Motivation, saying he had often applauded young people such as Bittu Tabahi for taking action when they saw neglected water bodies. However, he said this particular story caught his attention for a different reason.

According to Mahindra, the Kham River revival was not the work of one individual. Instead, local citizens, civic authorities, NGOs and other stakeholders came together to restore the river. He highlighted the shift from asking who would fix the problem to asking how people could work together to solve it. For Mahindra, that collective effort became his Monday Motivation.

Kham River was once treated as a sewage drain

The Kham is a seasonal river in Maharashtra's Marathwada region. According to the Kham River Restoration Mission, it is 65 km long, with an 8.8 km stretch flowing through the historic city of Aurangabad, now known as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, before eventually joining the Godavari River at Natshagar in Paithan.

The river has a long history in the region. As reported by the World Resources Institute, the Kham once supplied drinking water to the city through a sophisticated system of stepwells and ancient aqueducts known as Neher. However, population growth, unmanaged waste and unregulated sand mining gradually transformed the waterway into a dumping ground and public health hazard.

Many residents were reportedly unaware that the Kham was a river at all and viewed it as a nallah, or sewage drain. WRI reported that a coalition of community and city-led groups began a multi-pronged restoration initiative around 2020 to restore the river's ecological function and reconnect it with the city's cultural identity.

3 lakh tonnes of waste removed from the river

The Better India video shared by Mahindra highlighted the scale of the cleanup, stating that 3 lakh tonnes of waste had been removed from the river. The restoration work included diverting sewage, building decentralised sewage treatment plants and installing traps to capture plastic waste. The video also said that more than 1 lakh trees were planted, 54 acres of riverfront were cleared and 24 bridges were barricaded to prevent waste dumping.

The Kham River Restoration Mission's own figures report more than 1,03,851 saplings planted, 24 bridges barricaded and 1,24,261 square metres of riverfront area cleaned. It also records more than 182 citizen-engagement events involving over 22,000 people.

From polluted riverfront to green public spaces

The transformation extended beyond cleaning the waterway. The Better India video showed how neglected areas were turned into green spaces featuring an amphitheatre, butterfly parks and open gyms.

The Kham River Restoration Mission says its riverfront development includes a butterfly garden, amphitheatre, Miyawaki forest, outdoor sports and gym areas, nature trails and pocket parks. The Kham Riverside Ecopark, developed as part of the restoration mission, stretches along 1.25 km and covers 10.5 acres.

WRI also reported that polluted sites along the river were transformed into ecological parks that serve as community spaces and natural habitats.

Kham River restoration earns international recognition

The restoration effort has also received international recognition. The Kham River Restoration Mission won the 2024 St Andrews Prize for the Environment, with the University of St Andrews stating that the prize was worth $100,000 (Rs 1 crore).

The project was also named a finalist for the WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities. WRI described the initiative as a collaboration involving EcoSattva, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation and the Varroc Foundation, focused on restoring the river while creating public spaces and improving waste management.