https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Swachh Kedarnath: Will this IAS officer’s target to eliminate 100 tons of trash come true?

Once nearly destroyed by a man-made natural disaster, Kedarnath Dham, is gearing up to tell a key success story
Indian Masterminds Stories

As the date for reopening of the Kedarnath Dham draws closer, starting April 25 a large number of the valley population, including pitthuwalas, shopkeepers, municipal staff, and sanitation workers in Uttarakhand are excited for a different reason altogether.

The Rudraprayag district administration led by IAS Mayur Dixit will finally get to see if their Deposit Refund System for better waste disposal that uses QR code stickers would be able to eliminate 100 tons of garbage from the mountains.

Starting as a pilot project in May last year, the unique collaboration with Hyderabad-based IT-firm Recykal, has already been replicated all along the Char Dham route and beyond and even won an important award from the government.

Being one of the key Hindu pilgrimages, the Uttarakhand town witnesses major tourist footfall for nearly half the year which also leads to a huge amount of stress on its ecology due to waste accumulation.
The year 2022 alone saw around 16 lakh people visit the Lord Shiva temple which resulted in the piling of tons of trash strewn all around the sacred shrine.

This year, however, the Rudraprayag district administration under 2012 batch IAS officer Mr. Mayur Dixit proposes to tell a new tale of waste management.

DEPOSIT REFUND SYSTEM

This administration started its first step towards creating a digitally enabled behavioural change scheme for pilgrims undertaking the yatra in Aprill 2022.

Mr. Mayur Dixit told Indian Masterminds: “We wanted to create a process through which the waste reached the right place after disposal. This was only possible if the person disposing of the waste was inspired by an incentive.”

Plastic bottles with QR code

This is when the scheme titled the ‘Deposit Refund System’ (DRS) project was launched. It aims to collect every single plastic item sold be returned back to the collection system, so they cannot be littered. By DRS, consumers buy products and pay an additional amount (not a tax) which comprises a deposit. This deposit is fully refundable and reimbursed when one returns the empty packaging (bottle, sachet, chips packets, etc.) to the collection point.

SUCCESS

The DM said: “After numerous awareness drives over the past year, DRS has been successfully adopted by temple priests, pilgrims, pitthuwalas, shopkeepers, municipal staff, sanitation workers, among others. 
He claimed a success rate of 52 percent, so far. The program has been successful in collecting over 10,00,000 containers in the region.

Plastic bottle collection after initiation of DRS project

The app used in this project had an uptime of 99.9 percent with network availability. Moreover, all collected materials have now been channelised to recyclers and are boosting the local economy.
The Rudraprayag district’s initiative has won a ‘Digital India’ award in January under the category of ‘digital initiatives in collaboration with startups’.

REALITY CHECK

Following the success of the pilot and extensive support from the district administration and Swachh Bharat Mission, the DRS model has now extended to the 33 km track from Guptkashi to Kedarnath.

What first started in the Kedarnath Nagar panchayat area in May last year and later took up the  Guptkashi to Gaurikund (a 55-km stretch) in September will be put to a bigger test.

Using QR codes on all plastic products

Over 94,000 QR codes have been distributed across all shops along the Yatra route. “This time, we have also introduced multi-level plastic (MLP) and TetraPak containers along with PET bottles,” the officer said.
There will also be two reverse vending machines, mandating of all products sold on the stretch have QR code stickers across outlets, expansion of collection-cum-refund points along the path and setting up two Material Recovery Facility (MRF) one each at Sonprayag and Guptkashi.

Waste management in Kedarnath

With the scale of the program, the collective aim is to ensure a truly sustainable Swachh Kedarnath.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
Devendra Kumar Tiwari Alka Tiwari  IAS Jharkhand
First IAS Couple in India to Hold Both Chief Secretary & State Election Commissioner Posts Consecutively - Know This Powerful Pair
Policing, Trust, and Investment: Insights from IPF - Indian Masterminds
Indian Police Foundation Marks 10 Years, Discussion on How Policing Builds Investor Confidence
Madhya Pradesh football training
Mini Brazil to Germany: Vicharpur’s Young Footballers Get CM Mohan Yadav’s Blessings on Vijayadashami Week
bureaucracy news
Centre Announces Key Bureaucratic Appointments & Deputation Extensions: Neeraj Surendran, Arun G, Anand Mohan Among Key Names
PM Modi CM Nitish Kumar
Bihar Receives Rs. 10,219 Crore from Centre: A Festive Gift On Vijayadashami to Fuel Development & Welfare, Backed by GST Reforms
Chhattisgarh government
Chhattisgarh CM Charts Development Roadmap: Push for Capital Expenditure, Biometric Attendance, & Transparent Governance
Vishnu Deo Sai CM
Chhattisgarh Gets Rs. 3,462 Crore Boost from Modi Government: Here's How CM Sai Pledges To Spend It!
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Ravikant Meena on IFS Preparation, Optionals, and Life in Forest Service
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
How Siddhartha Saxena Cracked UPSC CAPF AIR 326 Against All Odds
Dr. S.K
Technology Meets Ecology: IFS Dr S K Srivastava’s Game-Changing Innovations in Forest Management | Eco Warrior Awards 2025 Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Live Interaction
From Cut-off Dates to Coaching & Reforms: UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Assures Aspirants of Fairness, Transparency & a Future-Ready UPSC | UPSC@100
A Century of Service: The UPSC’s Landmark Year Begins. Chairman Ajay Kumar on UPSC’s Centennial: “Merit,...
Giriraj Parihar MPPSC 2024
From Constable to Deputy Collector: Giriraj Parihar’s 9-Year MPPSC Journey | Farmer’s Son, Brother to Five Sisters
From a jail guard to MPPSC 2024 Rank 8, Giriraj Parihar’s nine-year journey of self-study, hard work,...
Ankit MPPSC 2024 Rank 3
From Village Dreams to Deputy Collector’s Chair: Meet Ankit, MPPSC Rank 3 Hindi Medium Topper
Ankit, a Hindi-medium aspirant from Balaghat, secured Rank 3 in MPPSC 2024 and became Deputy Collector...
Social Media
World Rhino Day India
On World Rhino Day, IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan Shares Rare Insights - India Now Hosts 80% of the World’s One-Horned Rhinos
September 22 Marks Global Call for Rhino Conservation; India Holds 80% of World’s Greater One-Horned...
Parag Madhukar Dhakate
Relentless Rains Wreak Havoc in Dehradun: IFS officer PM Dhakate Warns Citizens Amid Flash Floods
Cloudbursts in Dehradun triggered flash floods. IFS officer Dr. PM Dhakate warned citizens to stay indoors...
Forest Guard Tiger Encounter
Tigers Clash in the Wild as Forest Guards Capture Rare Footage , Retired IFS Mohan Pargaien Posts Viral Video
Retired IFS officer Mohan Pargaien shares viral video of three tigers brawling in Ramnagar, as forest...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
Devendra Kumar Tiwari Alka Tiwari  IAS Jharkhand
First IAS Couple in India to Hold Both Chief Secretary & State Election Commissioner Posts Consecutively - Know This Powerful Pair
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
Dr. S.K
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT