A joint Letter/advisory has been signed by as many as nine Secretaries to the Government of India on the localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) based on Theme 5: Clean and Green Village.
The letter dated 31st March 2022 indicates the willingness of the Ministries and Departments, which are signatories to the joint letter, to provide full support under their ongoing schemes to this effort at the Gram Panchayat/Village level. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) is the nodal Ministry for this theme.
The signatories to the letter addressed to Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs are: Smt. Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitary, Ministry of Jal Shakti; Shri Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying; Smt. Leena Nandan, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change; Shri. Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Department of Rural Development; Shri Ajay Tirkey, Secretary, Department of Land Resources; Shri Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries; Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
Objective: ‘Green’ refers to a world in which natural resources, including oceans, land, and forests, are sustainably managed and conserved to improve livelihoods and ensure food security, and most importantly protect the environment for future generations. ‘Clean’ refers to access to safe and adequate drinking water and sanitation services, low-pollution, low-emission world in which cleaner air, water, and oceans enable people to lead healthy and productive lives. Thus, a GP that chooses to focus on becoming a Clean and Green Village, would need to have clarity regarding the preservation and maintenance of the components that covers water resources, and its link to rivers and streams, and land resources and soil health.
Relevance to SBM-G: Effective maintenance of Open Defecation Free (ODF) status attained in 2019, efficient and effective functioning of solid and liquid waste management practices and system, grey water treatment, prevention of water source contamination are certain other major works that need to be focused upon if a village is to be a Clean Village. In order to become a Green Village, the GP would need to address ecological, economic and equity issues by bringing about changes through community level social regulations, cooperation, and their proactive participation for a green, clean, non-toxic, low carbon, self-reliant, eco-resilient rural India. The Green Village initiative focuses on activities like tree plantation, organic farming, conservation of village ecosystems and biodiversity, promotion of new and renewable energy sources and including eco-friendly innovations.
If a GP resolves to transform itself into a Clean and Green Village, it should focus on:
- Awareness generation amongst the citizens on the importance of reducing wastage, ensuring sustainable production and consumption, reducing the adverse impact on environment
- Promotion of measures within the GP that would reduce environmental pollution, such as reducing the use of plastics within the GP area
- Taking steps to create an in-depth understanding of the term climate change and its impact among the Gram Sabha, Panchayat committees and other community volunteers
- Mapping land use pattern, water bodies, forest, hill slopes, wetlands, degraded forest within the GP
- Developing appropriate norms for sustainable utilisation of resources from common lands, water bodies and forests on materials like non-timber forest produce, sand, fish and water
- Assessing the water needs, sources, schemes, solid and liquid waste being generated
- Settling the water and sanitation goals and targets for the GP
- Selection of appropriate technology for water supply and sanitation in the GP, based on participatory and area assessment
- Ensuring maintenance of toilets, of public spaces, including those in markets and GP premises
- Developing a comprehensive energy programme based on need assessment
Convergence: These efforts would require the full support of Ministry/Departmental functionaries of Drinking Water and Sanitation, New and Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Rural Development, Land Resources, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Panchayati Raj among others. In addition, if non-Governmental organisations, college students, youth organisations such as Nehru Yuvak Kendra volunteers, etc. are also involved in the task of facilitating the GP to become a ‘Clean and Green Village,’ then the gaol can be realised faster. It would also be important to measure progress in this regard through a set of 45 relevant indicators in the Local Indicator Framework (LIF) identified by the Expert Committee in its report on ‘Localization of SDGs in Panchayati Raj Institutions’ which has already been shared with all States and stakeholders and is available on the web site of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj: https://www.panchayat.gov.in
Interventions required: Under this initiative, States and UTs are encouraged to organise meetings of all GPs during the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) iconic week allocated to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj between April 11 and 17, 2022, followed by a meeting of the Gram Sabha on 24th April 2022 on the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day wherein GPs may resolve to focus on any one or more of the nine themes identified for the realisation of SDGs.
Handholding support: GPs that decide to focus on the attainment of Theme 5: Clean and Green Village would need to encouraged with special handholding support to work towards that goal, in particular raising awareness levels and for preparation of a Clean and Green Village action plan as a basic step in that direction. Role and responsibility of all stakeholders would need to be clearly delineated and understood and resource mapping to be undertaken factoring in resources available under various schemes of Central and State government culminating in implementation of the Panchayat Action Plan on the Theme, integrated into the GPDP. It is felt that convergent action by all concerned Ministries/Departments among others at the Central and State Government levels will go a long way in protecting the future of the planet. Eventually all GPs/villages have to become Clean and Green, if SDGs are to be attained by 2030 and challenges posed by climate change are to be addressed.
Background: India is a signatory to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for achieving inclusive, people-centric and holistic Sustainable Development through 17 identified Goals. To this extent, the Government of India is operating with strategic visioning, prioritization, and implementation methods to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the motto of ‘Leaving No One Behind’, through ‘Whole of Government and Whole of Society’ approach.
SDGs are cross-cutting in nature and a particular SDG can be mapped to many ministries which can be addressed through various schemes. Keeping this aspect in view, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has initiated a thematic approach of relevance for panchayats and villages through aggregating 17 SDG goals into 9 broad themes for localization of SDGs at grass-root level and their attainment through concerted and collaborative efforts of all concerned stakeholders.
These themes address more than one SDG and concern more than one Ministry/Department. Theme 5 – Clean and Green Village addresses targets in SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 – Climate Action, SDG 14 – Life below water and SDG 15 – Life on land.
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