No-more symbolic gatherings, focus on practical work
Once again this year on June 5th we all commemorated the world environment day. Seminars, conferences, plantations drives were held across the world including Jammu & Kashmir as well. Govt employees, students, NGOs, religious and social leaders pledged to save mother earth. After concluding these meetings and programmes, we all returned to our houses again to violate the rules and laws enacted by the Government to treat our own household waste?
In connection with the June 5th programme, I saw many Govt officers and lower rung employees busy in plantation drive, carrying brooms, banners and debating on countering plastic pollution. Ironically the water they drank in these programmes was supplied in PET bottles and banners they were carrying were made of plastic? When they all reached home they again mixed kitchen waste with plastic waste inside a trash bin? This means their learning was zero.
Swachh Bharat Mission guidelines (Gramin & Urban) impress upon individual households to segregate the waste at source. The kitchen waste is to be kept in a separate trash-bin and plastic waste, polythene etc., is to be kept in a different trash bin. In fact under SBM Gramin guidelines citizens are provided Rs 5500 for making compost units within house premises to process biodegradable waste - food waste / kitchen waste and for liquid waste Rs 11300 is provided to make soakage pits but how many beneficiaries are following these guidelines? Have these compost and soakage pits been constructed? How many are operational? Crores of rupees have been spent under SBM Gramin but the situation is much worse than it was before the introduction of this rural waste management programme? I have written about this extensively in last 10 years in Greater Kashmir especially? Question arises how do RDD and Municipal employees manage their household waste?
Ironically, the officials of Rural Development Department or Rural Sanitation Department J&K who are torch-bearers of the waste management programe in rural areas don’t even follow the guidelines themselves? There will be a handful of Assistant Commissioner Panchayats (ACPs), Block Development Officers (BDOs), Panchayat Inspectors or Panchayat Secretaries (VLW) who are composting waste as per MSW Rules 2016 and SBM Gramin guidelines within their own house premises? Same is the case with sanitation officers, ward officers and other officials of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) & Urban Local Bodies in Jammu & Kashmir. They hardly adhere to MSW Rules 2016 or SBM Urban guidelines? What moral authority do they have to ensure people manage waste as per these laws, rules or guidelines? These things won’t work unless Govt officials from these enforcing agencies don’t act and be an example and role models for the citizens
Pledge by students and teachers
With an aim of curbing the plastic pollution & ensuring home composting of waste, the students and teachers of Salsabeel Educational Institute Humhama, on the eve of World Environment Day pledged to undertake composting of kitchen waste in their respective houses. The pledge was taken on my request as I wanted to commemorate this day in a unique way with positive outcomes as well. I, along with my colleague Raja Amir Khan, made the students and teachers to take a pledge in this direction. The school had invited me as a guest speaker on World Environment Day and the organizer of the event Mr Abid Hussain Bhat had given me a formal invitation more than a month back. I skipped all the programmes and invitations on June 5th only to ensure I am at Salsabeel Educational Institute Humhama Budgam. There was a reason, I wanted the staff and students to take pledge and promise to treat their own household waste as per Municipal Solid Waste Rules (MSW) Rules 2016 and guidelines of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). I wanted to do follow up workshops as well in this direction so that in the next 6 months all the students and teachers would be at least composting their food waste, kitchen waste within the premises of their houses.
Conclusion
If we want to see a change vis a vis ensuring a clean & waste free environment around us, in the first instance the Government must make sure all the employees manage their kitchen waste as per Municipal Solid Waste - MSW Rules 2016 and Swachh Bharat Mission - SBM Guidelines. First of all the employees of Municipalities, Urban Local Bodies, Rural Sanitation and Rural Development Department-RDD must be directed to process their own household waste and on a daily basis they must upload the pics of their compost pits on designated portals or WhatsApp groups.
In the second phase Govt school teachers must adhere to this and then in 6 to 7 months all the Govt officials should manage their food waste, biodegradable waste as per aforementioned guidelines. In one year this must be made mandatory for all citizens. Students can play a great role in this entire programme. I am ready for providing more suggestions and guidance to the Govt in this regard.
Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is an Acumen Fellow. He is Chairman and Founder of Jammu & Kashmir RTI Movement and Anant Fellow for Climate Action
