Page 55 - Swachhata Chronicles – Transformative Tales from India (eBook)

A survey was previously conducted in the that she would do more if it could make her
GP to understand the mechanisms of waste village completely free of polythene and
disposal in rural panchayats, which revealed plastic waste.
that two-thirds of the waste generated at
The Sarpanch, who is also an advocate
the household level was harmful plastic.
by profession, announced that he would
To eliminate plastic waste and encourage provide three cloth bags to each household
the community to act plastic-smart with a for replacing polythene. On seeing polythene
sense of responsibility, the novel idea of bags, sanitary pads, diapers, hazardous
‘Give Polythene Get Gold’ was suggested by waste everywhere – on the roads, in the
the Sarpanch. Youth and women supported drains and near Masjids – he was motivated
the initiative and, within a few days, the to take measures against rampant plastic
local irrigation land and market areas were litter. Along with irrigation employees and
made polythene-free. the Jammu and Kashmir Police led by DO
Tunnel, the Sarpanch conducted awareness
The Sarpanch’s spouse, Shabnum Farooq,
camps, urging people to say no to plastics
aged 48 years, donated two 10-gram gold
and to refrain from throwing garbage in
coins for the campaign. Each gold coin
water bodies or vacant land.
was to be given in exchange for 20 quintals
of plastic waste. She commented on her Three community shramdaan drives were
contribution, “Whatever gold I have, I conducted in a fortnight, during which five
received it from my husband, and I am happy spots and a half kilometre stretch were
to donate towards saving the environment cleaned. People were motivated to collect as
and the well-being of my village.” She added much plastic as they could for this campaign.

Panchayat Halqa Hiller was awarded by Hon’ble
Lieutenant General (LG), Jammu and Kashmir, for
being among the best performing panchayats in
the State. Sarpanch Halqa Sadiwara received
the award during the National Panchayat Raj Day
held at Palli Samba Jammu.

utcome

The initiative demonstrated that small incentives can

be the right nudge for involving people in a process
and creating a sense of ownership toward moral

duties. Rewarding volunteers and sensitizing people
were instrumental in ensuring clean surroundings.

Swachhata Chronicles: Transformative Tales from India 35