CLEAN-India : Vision of a Pollution-Free Environment

India with its huge growing population is at the brink of an environmental disaster. Shortage of water, both for domestic and agricultural needs, lowering of the water table and pollution of water sources, increasing air pollution levels due to industrial emissions, vehicular exhaust, burning of waste in the open and denudation of vegetation has resulted in health hazards which are an economic burden upon the country. Experience has indicated that scientific work in laboratories like bringing out data on the quality of the environment serves very little purpose in comparison to education in terms of people’s awareness and community participation. To address these issues, Development Alternatives (DA) has embarked on a programme called Community Led Environment Action Network - India (CLEAN-India) which provides a vision for a cleaner environment, both in the urban and rural settings. The programme proposes to target school children for making the community aware and then taking action on environment related initiatives. In order to reach out to the rural masses, the programme will be designed so that it is simple (without resorting to high technology), involving low cost techniques, interesting and participatory. It aims to bring together all efforts of government agencies and NGOs in a complementary action plan, sharing ideas and working together towards a common goal.

A Humble Beginning

CLEAN-India programme has been evolved after DA’s experience with the Delhi Environment Action Network (DEAN) programme, which has initiated in September 1996. From a small group  

of teachers and students of about ten schools, the action force has gained momentum and now has 28 schools covering the entire metropolitan area of Delhi. The nucleus of two teachers and four students per school has trained a large number of school children, passing their knowledge and experiences to their juniors, thus achieving sustainability, expanding to a movement of communities who become really conscious of the environment.

Concept

· Past experience has shown an utter lack of understanding of environment related problems by the administration and the people at large. A general trend of fatalistic acceptance of the deteriorating quality of environment, turning a blind eye to things going wrong, passing the buck and hoping for a better future, are alarming signals which have to be tackled head-on and on a war footing. A universal feeling of resistance to change continues to prevail among the people in general. Such an attitude is further compounded by inaction of authorities who are in the business of dealing with environmental issues. In such a scenario, it was once again realised that school children are the 

catalyst for this programme, as they are the future citizens who could be nurtured for shouldering the responsibility. Starting from individual households to communities, villages and towns, they can make their voices heard, anxieties understood and concerns translated into action for a cleaner environment.

· Secondly, it was felt that in order to be effective, children must have all the tools to carefully assess the environment quality, create awareness and implement remedial action on a continuous basis. Such a concept would not only provide them with an understanding of scientific principles but also enable them to involve themselves in an investigative process and scientific research, broadening their horizons, understanding the problem and taking corrective action. The programme envisages imparting of scientific knowledge, testing of environmental parameters and assessment along with dissemination of information.

· Finally, the process of dissemination will enable school children to mobilise communities for cleaner and safer neighbourhoods through sustained interaction. Young minds who genuinely believe in a cause for the better will have a powerful influence on others and will act as engines of change for those around them. They will not rest till their voices are heard and remedial action taken.

Objectives of the Programme

Once it was decided to initiate the programme through school children, it was felt that a core group was required to be trained to carry out various activities of 

monitoring, spreading awareness and involving the community in sound environmental practices. The core group was to be from the selected school with teachers/school children teams to :

· assess the quality of water using field testing kits;

· assess the quality of air, especially pollution in towns and cities;

· collect base-line data and disseminate its findings to the authorities and the community;

· conduct awareness campaigns for mobilising the community for improving the environment;

· initiate environment actions at community level; and

· expand the programme at the national level.

Organisational Structure

For such a gigantic task with the aim of having one nodal school per district in the country, it was felt that the programme could not become functional with the remote control being exercised from Delhi. It is envisaged that Zonal Head Quarters (HQ) shall be established in the existing DA branches outside New Delhi or with like-minded NGOs, to cover the entire country. Five to six zonal HQ would be exercising the overall coordination in their respective areas of jurisdiction, organise training, compile data and make efforts to acquire institutional and financial support. They have to establish a close liaison with state governments, civic agencies and tehsil /sub-division/ blocks / gram panchayats for expanding the network.

According to the 1991 census, there were 300 cities in the country with a population of more than one lakh, which have now grown in number and population. Environmentally, they are the worst affected and need urgent attention. They are mainly concentrated in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Besides the air pollution due to traffic and industries, they face problems of scarce potable water, solid waste disposal, depletion of tree cover and affect on health due to deteriorating environment quality. To address these issues, the emphasis should be on covering maximum number of these cities for CLEAN-India programme. That is the reason for making efforts to include each and every district in the country. The zonal HQ will be delegated the responsibility to coordinate the activities of a number of regional centres looking after districts in their respective regions of responsibility. Each regional centre will have five to eight districts under their wings with at least one nodal school in each district.

DA has been fortunate in this endeavour to get the backing of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the two organisations to mutually assist one another as both of them are deeply concerned with the deteriorating environmental quality in the country and propose to develop a strategic collaboration to strengthen existing initiatives for community based environmental action in urban and rural India. This collaboration is aimed at mobilising the school network for a continuous monitoring of environmental quality and motivating communities to initiate activities for clean neighbourhoods. CPCB has agreed to :

· provide technical support to include validation of results, testing of sophisticated pollutants (pesticides, heavy metals, etc.), assistance for furthering community action and training of CLEAN personnel on environmental management;

· motivate state pollution control boards to support and facilitate the programme in their respective regions;

· influence responsiveness from State Governments and Local Authorities;

· assist in convening workshops and meetings;

· provide nationwide statistical data, including maps;

· calibrate testing kits from time to time; and

· support fund raising from donor agencies.

DA has been carrying out environment related activities and it is eminently suited for such a challenging task. Besides being the National HQ for CLEAN-INDIA programme, it has the staff to plan and coordinate such an activity. It has an experienced Geographic Information System (GIS) Group which can facilitate in-house environmental mapping. Its Communication Support Unit has the infrastructure for creating awareness through the media. Also, a well-organised laboratory can facilitate in terms of validation of water and air quality.

 

Criteria for Selection of NGOs as CLEAN Partners

The partner NGO should:

· be a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860;

· have previous work experience in the field of environment education, pollution control, development, water/sanitation, forestry and health;

· have a good working relationship with government agencies;

· have the region of their responsibility within their reach;

· have trained staff with dedication and commitment;

· and be able to co-ordinate activities of the schools, collate and compile data and organise environment improvement activities in their regions of responsibility.

Schools

The criteria for selection of schools shall be :

· Previous history of the school in organising environmental education activities (and only senior secondary schools will be selected).

· Commitment and interest shown by the administration and the teachers.

· Willingness to participate and take forward the programme as a social movement.

· Preference will be given to local Government schools and Kendriya / Navodaya Vidyalayas, D.A.V and Army Schools.

 

Programme Activities

CLEAN-India programme is planned for a period of five years but it will be our earnest effort to bring in awareness, which in turn will catalyse communities to ensure continuity and sustainability. In the initial phase, it is proposed to cover 50 districts in the first year, 50 more in the second, expanding to 100-200 additional districts from the third to the fifth year. Inputs from the initial two years shall be disseminated to the zonal HQ and regional centres for motivating and enlarging the network to achieve a sustained growth of the campaign.

The CLEAN activities at the school level are :

· Each network school shall have an Annual Water Quality Monitoring plan for its area of intervention.

· Seasonal monitoring schedule will be worked out for summer, monsoon and winter seasons.

· Sampling will be done for all available sources of drinking water, i.e., municipal, ground water, lakes/ponds, river, etc.

· Data shall be recorded and forwarded to the regional centres. In case the data shows alarming deviations, the samples will be forwarded to regional centres for getting advance testing by state pollution control boards or universities / scientific institutions having laboratory facilities.

· Air monitoring shall be carried out in tehsil towns and cities, recording data of vehicular pollution at busy road intersections, market places, business centres, industrial installations, power stations, etc. Local authorities shall be advised on smoke emission reduction, traffic decongestion, more use of public transport, etc.

· Communities shall be advised in solid waste management to include segregation of garbage into bio-degradable and non biodegradable waste and their respective disposal.

· Initiate vermi-composting of domestic waste at school and community levels.

· Propagate recycling of paper especially in schools and Government 

offices and encourage individual entrepreneurs to set up mini hand-made paper units.

· Propagate intensive tree planting schemes and co-ordinate supply of trees, shrubs and medicinal plants from the horticulture department.

· Educate the community on harmful effects of water and air pollution and advise on proper utilisation of dried leaf litter for composting rather than burning.

· Advise community on cleaning of drains and prevention of contamination of water sources like wells, tanks and ponds.

· In water scarcity areas, advise on water harvesting techniques.

· Schools will also document community action taken, compile local media reports, interact with the community and local NGOs, and take action to mobilise legal support, if required.

It shall be the responsibility of the regional centres and zonal HQ to take all possible measures to convey the results of environmental monitoring to various agencies. This may be in the form of involving citizens, panchayats, local bodies, government departments and industry by organising public hearings, group discussions, visits of leaders, talks for greater awareness and action, review meetings, training, melas, film shows and other media interactions. They shall also compile, collate and disseminate their findings for a controlled strategic intervention at the highest level. The programme is being launched with the assumption of self-reliance, involvement and voluntary participation. In such a large country with a massive growing population, success can only be achieved if there is a sustained effort at all levels without looking over one’s shoulder for support. This is certainly possible once a certain level of awareness is achieved.

Conclusion

Time is running out and we in DA firmly believe that a joint action to save the environment from degradation is the need of the hour. A spark of consciousness has to be ignited to start a chain reaction for the betterment of the surroundings we live in. DA also believes that school children have a powerful voice which cannot be prevented from being heard. They are our future citizens and leaders who can be mobilised for a better tomorrow. CLEAN-India is one of the efficient ways to reach our goal of clean drinking water, clean fresh air to breathe, a greener world to experience, an efficient way to utilise waste and create a healthy vibrant community for an environment-friendly future. q

by Col. V Katju (Retd)

 

(The author is working as the Manager, Environment Systems Branch, Development Alternatives, New Delhi)

 

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