Till last year, the residents of Jammu had very limited involvement in the city’s cleanliness drives. However, this changed when Ms. Avny Lavasa got posted as the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) Commissioner in January 2020. Thanks to her efforts, people have now started taking cleanliness seriously and have shown active participation in various competitions and awareness campaigns.
Not only this, but with the efforts of Ms. Lavasa and other officials, a huge investment project of two processing and disposal plants which was pending for more than a decade, has got a nod from the Government under the Swachh Bharat Mission scheme.
In an exclusive interview with Indian Masterminds, Ms. Lavasa threw light on initiatives.
THE PROCESS
Ms. Lavasa said, “There are four steps on which we carry out the process of cleanliness. We start with the collection of waste, then transport it before initiating its processing and disposal. There are three parts in collection, first being the source segregation in which we ask people to segregate the waste so that it eases the recycling process. Next is the door-to-door collection in which we are working on increasing the collection process to 100 percent. Lastly, there are some miscellaneous points where door-to-door collection is impossible and at such places, we ensure that the public dustbins are cleared timely and periodically.
“Another important step,’’ said Ms. Lavasa, “is transportation which requires efficiency as we work on reducing the overall turnaround time which takes in transportation of waste. Then comes the most important part of processing and disposal. Unfortunately, right now the municipal corporation is dumping waste in landfills as the plants for processing and disposal require huge investments. There are two projects in the pipeline which have been pending for the past 12 years and we have managed to get the requisite approval and hopefully, by February 2021 the work will start on both the plants.”
As the main aim of the corporation is to conduct 100 percent door-to-door collection, more community participation was required. For this, the corporation conducted various awareness campaigns under the guidance of Ms. Lavasa.
AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS
While speaking about the awareness campaigns, Ms. Lavasa said, “There are two ways by which we have been spreading awareness in the city: first being the house-to-house survey in which people from the corporation visit various households and conduct surveys. The other one is mass media campaigns in which we use social media, radio, advertisement, hoardings, etc. to spread awareness among the residents.”
Also, pamphlets and leaflets were distributed in each household to conduct baseline surveys for efficient solid waste management within the Jammu city. During these surveys, people were recommended to install the “Swachhata app” and were informed about Information, Education & Communication (IEC) activities under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
Other than that, some interactive campaigns were also conducted under the Swachh Bharat Mission where people took part in painting competitions and drama activities such as `nukkad nataks (street plays).
INTERACTIVE SESSIONS
A drawing/painting competition was recently organized by the JMC on the topic ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ at Ambedkar Bhawan, where many people participated with much excitement.
Ms. Lavasa said, “The theme of the competition was cleanliness and three winners were selected from the competition.”
Apart from this, a drama activity/street play was conducted at ward level under the IEC awareness campaign, on solid waste management. A campaign called “Plastic Lao Thaila Pao” was also launched in which Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCCB), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) joined hands.
Ms. Lavasa has also used other platforms for mass awareness. This includes her interview with the Red FM where she spoke on the topic solid waste management. This is a big step towards using radio as an awareness platform as it targets a huge audience. Banners and hoardings designed by JMC have also been prominently displayed in the city.
Apart from this, workshops and interactive sessions are conducted with traders & shopkeepers’ associations, hoteliers, and community level heads/Ward Councilors to make them aware of the cleanliness campaigns.
