For 20 years, Chintan has been working across Delhi and 8 Indian states and Union Territories to address the challenges of waste management, air pollution, education, and climate change. Through its waste systems, it diverts approximately 600,000 kg of waste monthly from landfills, reducing open burning and methane emissions. Over 12,000 waste workers have been organized into collectives, with nearly 5,000 green livelihoods generated through recycling, repair, and waste management initiatives. Chintan’s air pollution and climate education programmes have reached over 1.5 million people, including 15,000+ school children and youth. Its approach integrates grassroots implementation with policy advocacy to advance inclusive and climate-resilient urban development.

The grant from Harish and Bina Shah Foundation supports Saaf Saans: Cleaner Air for Gen-Next, Chintan’s multi-city initiative to reduce children’s exposure to air pollution in Uttar Pradesh. The programme targets high-impact local sources and builds a replicable, community-driven model focused on reducing exposure, closing institutional gaps and strengthening city-level resilience. Children are central to the programme as credible voices for clean air and lasting change. Anchored in three pillars - capacity building, hands-on action, and institutional integration, Saaf Saans aims to demonstrate scalable, hyper-local action while creating a citywide ecosystem that recognises air pollution as a public health and development issue.