Latest news with #ODFPlus
Hans India
26-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
Plastic-for-meals, pads-for-waste: Rural India reimagining sanitation solutions
India's path to reaching the milestone of having 77 per cent of its villages as a ODF Plus Model has been quietly paved by local experiments -- from plastic-for-meals drives to tourism-funded waste management systems. A village can attain ODF Plus Model status once it sustains its open defecation-free position, has arrangements for both solid and liquid waste management, observes visual cleanliness, and displays ODF Plus information, education and communication messages. Going by official data, more than 5.10 lakh villages have arrangements for solid waste disposal while over 5.26 lakh have systems for liquid waste management. More than 1,200 biogas plants are registered and over 6.38 lakh vehicles have been deployed for waste collection. Yet, beyond these statistics, it is the local leadership and community-led initiatives that are shaping how rural India is managing its waste. With plastic waste being a significant hindrance to sanitation, Suman Dangi of Karnal district in Haryana has adopted an ingenuous way to solve the problem -- bring 500 grams of clean, recyclable plastic and get a hot meal in return. She and her self-help group launched the initiative with a Rs 50,000 loan and have since collected over 1,500 kg of plastic and served more than 3,000 meals. Running the programme at the Atal Kisan Mazdoor Canteen in Bhushli village, Dangi said the idea was born out of necessity. 'Plastic is everywhere and people are hungry. We found a way to tackle both,' she says. A similar social initiative is unfolding in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district. Here, women are trying to address plastic pollution and menstrual hygiene together. Christened 'Mera Plastic, Meri Jimmedari', women from Unchadeeh village are given a pack of sanitary pads for every two kg of plastic waste they collect. Initiated by Archana Tripathi, the village head, the program has seen support from health workers and school teachers who are encouraging women and girls to collect used plastic items. 'It's a small effort but it helps break taboos around menstruation while reducing plastic litter,' Tripathi said. In neighbouring Ghorawal block, Parmeshwar Pal, a village head, has taken on the task of collecting plastic waste in an e-rickshaw daily while urging locals to reduce single-use plastic. 'It's not glamorous work, but it starts conversations and changes habits,' he said. In the hill state of Uttarakhand, a revenue-backed waste management model has emerged in Sirasu village along the Ganga river. Once lacking basic sanitation, the village is now an ODF Plus Model site that funds its cleanliness drive through tourism. Since 2018, the local panchayat has charged Rs 1,000 for pre-wedding photoshoots and rented out tents and lighting equipment to generate Rs 50 lakh revenue over the years. The funds are used to maintain toilets, operate plastic waste collection centres, and improve infrastructure for the growing number of tourists. 'The photoshoots bring money that keeps the village clean,' said a member of the village panchayat. Community spirit and wisdom have transformed Niuland district's Ghokito village, just a kilometre from Kuhuboto town in Nagaland, into an ODF Plus Model Village that has 86 households and a population of just over 500. At the heart of Ghokito's waste management lies a simple yet powerful practice: backyard farming. Kitchen scraps like vegetable peels and leftovers are cooked with wheat bran and green leafy vegetables to create feed for pigs, raised by nearly every household. This turns waste into a resource for the livestock and reduces landfill waste. Children also play a vital role in Ghokito's sustainability efforts. Every week, students from the Sunday school collect plastic waste from homes and by-lanes, segregating it for sale to a recycling network. The earnings fund their ministry activities, creating a cycle of community benefit. Cleanliness in Ghokito is a culture, not a one-time effort. A water and sanitation committee conducts monthly inspections to ensure toilets are clean and functional, with special attention to the hygiene of migrant workers. Although the Central government has focused on infrastructure push with over 1,825 rural plastic waste units set up, the stories from Bhushli, Ghokito, Unchadeeh, and Sirasu highlight a shift in approach: local solutions for local problems. 'Whether through informal barters or leveraging tourism, rural India's waste crisis is being tackled in ways that go beyond policy documents,' a senior official said. As India moves closer to its sanitation targets, the next challenge will be sustaining these efforts and ensuring they remain community-led and economically viable, the official added.
The Print
24-05-2025
- General
- The Print
Plastic-for-meals, pads-for-waste: Rural India reimagining sanitation solutions
Going by official data, more than 5.10 lakh villages have arrangements for solid waste disposal while over 5.26 lakh have systems for liquid waste management. More than 1,200 biogas plants are registered and over 6.38 lakh vehicles have been deployed for waste collection. A village can attain ODF Plus Model status once it sustains its open defecation-free position, has arrangements for both solid and liquid waste management, observes visual cleanliness, and displays ODF Plus information, education and communication messages. New Delhi, May 24 (PTI) India's path to reaching the milestone of having 77 per cent of its villages as ODF Plus Model has been quietly paved by local experiments — from plastic-for-meals drives to tourism-funded waste management systems. Yet, beyond these statistics, it is the local leadership and community-led initiatives that are shaping how rural India is managing its waste. With plastic waste being a significant hindrance to sanitation, Suman Dangi of Karnal district in Haryana has adopted an ingenuous way to solve the problem — bring 500 grams of clean, recyclable plastic and get a hot meal in return. She and her self-help group launched the initiative with a Rs 50,000 loan and have since collected over 1,500 kilograms of plastic and served more than 3,000 meals. Running the programme at the Atal Kisan Mazdoor Canteen in Bhushli village, Dangi said the idea was born out of necessity. 'Plastic is everywhere and people are hungry. We found a way to tackle both.' A similar social initiative is unfolding in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district. Here, women are trying to address plastic pollution and menstrual hygiene together. Christened 'Mera Plastic, Meri Jimmedari', women of the Unchadeeh village panchayat are given a pack of sanitary pads for every 2 kg of plastic waste they collect. Initiated by Archana Tripathi, the village head, the program has seen support from health workers and school teachers who are encouraging women and girls to collect used plastic items. 'It's a small effort but it helps break taboos around menstruation while reducing plastic litter,' Tripathi said. In neighbouring Ghorawal block, Parmeshwar Pal, a village head, has taken on the task of collecting plastic waste in an e-rickshaw daily while urging locals to reduce single-use plastic. 'It's not a glamorous work, but it starts conversations and changes habits,' he said. In the hill state of Uttarakhand, a revenue-backed waste management model has emerged in Sirasu village along the Ganga river. Once lacking basic sanitation, the village is now an ODF Plus Model site that funds its cleanliness drive through tourism. Since 2018, the local panchayat has charged Rs 1,000 for pre-wedding photo shoots and rented out tents and lighting equipment to generate Rs 50 lakh revenue over the years. The funds are used to maintain toilets, operate plastic waste collection centres, and improve infrastructure for the growing number of tourists. 'The photoshoots bring money that keeps the village clean,' said a member of the village panchayat. Community spirit and wisdom have transformed Niuland district's Ghokito village, just a kilometre from Kuhuboto town in Nagaland, into an ODF Plus Model Village that has 86 households and a population of just over 500. At the heart of Ghokito's waste management lies a simple yet powerful practice: backyard farming. Kitchen scraps like vegetable peels and leftovers are cooked with wheat bran and green leafy vegetables to create feed for pigs, raised by nearly every household. This turns waste into a resource for the livestock and reduces landfill waste. Children also play a vital role in Ghokito's sustainability efforts. Every week, students from the village's Sunday School collect plastic waste from homes and by-lanes, segregating it for sale to a recycling network. The earnings fund their ministry activities, creating a cycle of community benefit. Cleanliness in Ghokito is a culture, not a one-time effort. A water and sanitation committee conducts monthly inspections to ensure toilets are clean and functional, with special attention to the hygiene of migrant workers. Although the Central government has focused on infrastructure push with over 1,825 rural plastic waste units set up, the stories from Bhushli, Ghokito, Unchadeeh, and Sirasu highlight a shift in approach: local solutions for local problems. 'Whether through informal barters or leveraging tourism, rural India's waste crisis is being tackled in ways that go beyond policy documents,' a senior official said. As India moves closer to its sanitation targets, the next challenge will be sustaining these efforts and ensuring they remain community-led and economically viable, the official added. PTI UZM NSD NSD This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Plastic-for-meals, pads-for-waste: Rural India reimagining sanitation solutions
New Delhi, India's path to reaching the milestone of having 77 per cent of its villages as ODF Plus Model has been quietly paved by local experiments from plastic-for-meals drives to tourism-funded waste management systems. A village can attain ODF Plus Model status once it sustains its open defecation-free position, has arrangements for both solid and liquid waste management, observes visual cleanliness, and displays ODF Plus information, education and communication messages. Going by official data, more than 5.10 lakh villages have arrangements for solid waste disposal while over 5.26 lakh have systems for liquid waste management. More than 1,200 biogas plants are registered and over 6.38 lakh vehicles have been deployed for waste collection. Yet, beyond these statistics, it is the local leadership and community-led initiatives that are shaping how rural India is managing its waste. With plastic waste being a significant hindrance to sanitation, Suman Dangi of Karnal district in Haryana has adopted an ingenuous way to solve the problem bring 500 grams of clean, recyclable plastic and get a hot meal in return. She and her self-help group launched the initiative with a ₹50,000 loan and have since collected over 1,500 kilograms of plastic and served more than 3,000 meals. Running the programme at the Atal Kisan Mazdoor Canteen in Bhushli village, Dangi said the idea was born out of necessity. "Plastic is everywhere and people are hungry. We found a way to tackle both." A similar social initiative is unfolding in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district. Here, women are trying to address plastic pollution and menstrual hygiene together. Christened 'Mera Plastic, Meri Jimmedari', women of the Unchadeeh village panchayat are given a pack of sanitary pads for every 2 kg of plastic waste they collect. Initiated by Archana Tripathi, the village head, the program has seen support from health workers and school teachers who are encouraging women and girls to collect used plastic items. "It's a small effort but it helps break taboos around menstruation while reducing plastic litter," Tripathi said. In neighbouring Ghorawal block, Parmeshwar Pal, a village head, has taken on the task of collecting plastic waste in an e-rickshaw daily while urging locals to reduce single-use plastic. "It's not a glamorous work, but it starts conversations and changes habits," he said. In the hill state of Uttarakhand, a revenue-backed waste management model has emerged in Sirasu village along the Ganga river. Once lacking basic sanitation, the village is now an ODF Plus Model site that funds its cleanliness drive through tourism. Since 2018, the local panchayat has charged ₹1,000 for pre-wedding photo shoots and rented out tents and lighting equipment to generate ₹50 lakh revenue over the years. The funds are used to maintain toilets, operate plastic waste collection centres, and improve infrastructure for the growing number of tourists. "The photoshoots bring money that keeps the village clean," said a member of the village panchayat. Community spirit and wisdom have transformed Niuland district's Ghokito village, just a kilometre from Kuhuboto town in Nagaland, into an ODF Plus Model Village that has 86 households and a population of just over 500. At the heart of Ghokito's waste management lies a simple yet powerful practice: backyard farming. Kitchen scraps like vegetable peels and leftovers are cooked with wheat bran and green leafy vegetables to create feed for pigs, raised by nearly every household. This turns waste into a resource for the livestock and reduces landfill waste. Children also play a vital role in Ghokito's sustainability efforts. Every week, students from the village's Sunday School collect plastic waste from homes and by-lanes, segregating it for sale to a recycling network. The earnings fund their ministry activities, creating a cycle of community benefit. Cleanliness in Ghokito is a culture, not a one-time effort. A water and sanitation committee conducts monthly inspections to ensure toilets are clean and functional, with special attention to the hygiene of migrant workers. Although the Central government has focused on infrastructure push with over 1,825 rural plastic waste units set up, the stories from Bhushli, Ghokito, Unchadeeh, and Sirasu highlight a shift in approach: local solutions for local problems. "Whether through informal barters or leveraging tourism, rural India's waste crisis is being tackled in ways that go beyond policy documents," a senior official said. As India moves closer to its sanitation targets, the next challenge will be sustaining these efforts and ensuring they remain community-led and economically viable, the official added.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
CM bats for smart villages, moots training of gram panchayat staff
1 2 Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday stressed upon training staff at gram panchayats to make them self-reliant and technologically capable. During a review of the panchayati raj department, the CM said that the concept of converting panchayat buildings into village secretariats was adopted by the Niti Ayog as a scalable model. In UP itself, 57,695 village panchayats have secretariats functioning in their buildings. The CM highlighted digital initiatives like the state-level call centre, online attendance system, 10-seater call centres, geo-fencing of village secretariats and internet calling that are being set up in villages. He directed that a 15-day computer training be made mandatory for panchayat assistants and that these digital platforms be used to the maximum for monitoring the work of village, block and district panchayats. Asking for public participation to be strengthened in works like the revival of water bodies and maintenance of Amrit Sarovars, the CM said that officials concerned must ensure that sewage water does not reach Amrit Sarovars or other ponds, and that proper drainage arrangements are made outside the village. Revenue generated through the lease of ponds should be used for village development, he said, and directed the departments of panchayati raj, revenue and fisheries to prepare a coordinated action plan for pond allocation, maintenance and use. Directing officials to ensure that ponds are desilted in a timely manner, the CM said that rainwater harvesting should be made mandatory in village secretariats, anganwadi centres and primary schools. Focusing on sanitation and cleanliness, the CM said that community toilets should be maintained properly and timely payment of honorariums should be made to employees. He said that 90,891 out of 96,171 revenue villages in the state have been declared ODF Plus. He directed that the remaining villages should be brought to this status swiftly. The CM reinforced a complete ban on single-use plastic in rural areas and instructed officials to ensure the construction of plastic management units. Officials said that 89 out of 150 proposed units have been completed, while 33 are under construction. The CM reviewed the progress of the Gobardhan scheme, with officials mentioning that 115 Gobardhan plants have been completed in 73 out of 75 districts, with two units under construction. The CM told the officials that the state govt is prioritising the concept of smart villages , under which facilities like village secretariats, common service centres, public distribution system shops, celebration halls, public address systems, CCTV cameras and solar street lights are being provided in villages to significantly improve the ease of living for rural residents.
Hans India
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Collector Vinod gets Swachh Andhra (Rural) Best performance award
Anantapur: Anantapur District Collector Dr. Vinod Kumar V was honored with the State-Level Best Performance Award for the effective implementation of the Swachh Andhra (Rural) programme. The award was presented by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan during the National Panchayati Raj Day – 2025 celebrations held on Thursday at the CK Convention Hall in Mangalagiri, under the aegis of the Panchayati Raj Department. Under the leadership of Dr. Vinod Kumar, all Gram Panchayats in Anantapur district were successfully transformed into ODF Plus model villages, showcasing exemplary performance in rural sanitation initiatives. In recognition of these significant achievements, the state government declared him the recipient of the top award on Wednesday, followed by a formal presentation on Thursday. Sri Sathya Sai District Collector T.S. Chetan was also presented with the Best Performance Award for outstanding work in the same category.
