Purulia, a formerly Naxal-affected district that ranks among the top 150 water-stressed districts in the country, is undergoing physical metamorphosis owing to ADM Adityavikram Hirani. The IAS officer is ushering in changes in the district with his ‘Green Clean Campaign,’ which is instilling values of recycling and conservation among school children.
Indian Masterminds spoke exclusively with the officer to know about this initiative in detail.
TEAM EFFORT
The initiative is the result of the joint efforts of UNICEF, Swattchh Bharat Mission Gramin, the Horticulture Department, the Education Department, the District Sanitation Cell, and CSR activities, all aimed at transforming the district, particularly the schools.
“The campaign’s goal is not just to repair the school’s infrastructure, but also to instill in young kids the values of recycling, conservation, and nurturing,” the officer shared.
Mr. Hirani pursued this goal and decided to effect socio-behavioral change in people’s thoughts with the help of UNCIEF’s manpower and financial support.
GREEN CLEAN CAMPAIGN
The program first concentrated on greywater management, toilet retrofitting, and natural resource management in schools in such a way that one aspect was related to the other. To assist manure development, single-pit toilets were transformed into twin pits, and special handwashing stations for children were built just outside the toilets.
“The handwashing stations include more than just standard taps and soaps; they are specifically constructed so that greywater is filtered via a net and activated charcoal before being channeled into the schools’ kitchen gardens,” Mr. Hirani told Indian Masterminds.
The kitchen gardens, which are entirely owned by the schools, are the primary source of nutrition for the young children’s midday meals. The school’s nurturing committee is made up of teachers, parents, and students who are in charge of the kitchen gardens.
“They sowed the seeds and utilized the water accumulated through greywater management and, within a couple of months, we were able to have an organic cultivation of home-grown vegetables which were used for the mid-day meals, making them diversified,” the officer said.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Furthermore, waste from mid-day meals is transformed into vermicompost, which is then used in the kitchen gardens. A few schools in the district also proposed employing soak pit systems to recharge groundwater by preventing it from flowing and percolating into the groundwater.
They use greywater to create little ponds in their vicinity, which look beautiful with waterlilies sprouting in them and colorful fish swimming around.
“The campaign is a simple intervention of re-using the natural resources for the transformation of school campuses with the idea to impress our kids with the importance of re-using the natural resources such as gas and water, which is scarcest in Purulia, and exposing them to not only the concepts of maths and science but also horticulture, gardening, water utilization, agriculture, and the cyclical change of elements,” he said.
CHILD CABINET
Under the campaign, every school is supposed to have a Child Cabinet which will be a working replica of the national government, wherein every Cabinet will consist of a child Chief Minister, Health Minister, Education Minister, Sports Minister, Environment Minister, and subsequent portfolio holders.
The ‘ministers’ will be elected for a period of one month and will keep a check on their departments. The ‘Health Minister’ will keep a check on the pupil’s hygiene and cleanliness by conducting nail and uniform checks after every morning assembly. Similarly, the ‘Education Minister’ will keep a check on the school’s extra-curricular activities and studies while the ‘Environment Minister’ will look after the kitchen gardens, ponds, and plantations.
“The students themselves own their project and get a taste of democracy and essentially how the countries and various states function. Through such activities, the students are learning much beyond their curriculum,” Mr. Hirani shared.
SWACCHATA ANURODH
The Green Clean campaign was followed by Swacchata Anurodh wherein students of the village were accompanied by district officials and other volunteers for campaigns throughout the village, going to their own homes, speaking to their own elders, and raising awareness related to topics of national and global importance like conservation of natural resources, the necessity of maintaining the ODF status, and afforestation.
“We have now moved to the second phase of the campaign where we have enhanced our scope of work and are focussing on plastic, waste tires, and rubber. Our goal is to carry forward the activities of phase 1 and inculcate new activities such as recycling of waste and making the best out of them,” he told Indian Masterminds.
The waste tires will be repainted and converted to make small play areas for school kids whereas the plastic bottles would be transformed to make green walls in and around the schools. The officer is trying his best to scale down such conventionally urban concepts and implement them at the grassroots level to make the future generation more conscious about protecting the environment.
