clean and green village

Clean and Green Villages

The Clean and Green Village is the fifth amongst the nine themes adopted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to transform rural ecosystem with the support of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP). In that, "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 and “Clean” refers to access to safe & adequate drinking water and sanitation services, low-pollution, low-emission, cleaner air, water, and oceans that enable people to lead healthy, productive lives. The Clean and Green Village theme has 10 components viz. Open Defecation Free Village, Clean and Green School, Clean and Green Anganwadi, Scientific Management of Solid Waste, Wastewater Management, Affordable and Clean Energy, Greening Development, Promotion of Organic Farming & Progressive Reduction of Chemicals, Celebrate Clean and Green Living and Strengthening Local Committee & Enhance Larger Participation (MoPR, 2021).

To integrate the components of the Green and Clean Village theme, many ministries have joined the movement. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Panchayati Raj are actively involved in achieving the objectives under clean and green villages (SBM-G, 2022).

A spree of Schemes/Programmes was initiated by the Government of India to achieve the holistic development of villages and rural community and achieving the development goals. Agroecological approaches can play a key role in transforming the rural ecosystem and achieving the targets of green and clean villages.

Waste to Wealth: Towards clean villages

Biogas and organic manure are promising green technologies that converts agricultural, industrial, animal, and municipal wastes into useful forms viz. energy, agri-input etc. The biogas sector can fulfil the energy needs of the country and help to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce pollution, and improve waste management.

The Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources dhan (GOBARdhan) programme launched in 2018, is an integral component of Solid Waste Management under Phase-II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) for ensuring clean and green villages by converting organic/biodegradable waste including cattle dung, kitchen leftovers, crop residue and market waste etc. into biogas and bio-slurry to improve the lives of villagers. It is a ‘waste to wealth’ initiative wherein waste generated in villages is used to generate bio-gas/CBG as well as bio-slurry/bio-fertilizer and is in tune with the circular economy and Mission LiFE initiatives of GoI. Under SBM-G, financial assistance of up to Rs.50 lakhs per district is available for the entire programme period from 2020-21 to 2024-25 for setting up of community level biogas plant(s) (MoJS, 2023). 683 functional Bio-Gas/CBG Plants have been set up across 206 districts. This has numerous advantages including, eco-friendly energy source, nutrient rich slurry to enhance soil quality and reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers, clean surroundings and reduced incidence of vector borne diseases, saving in economic costs arising out of poor sanitation and health conditions, reduced Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emission, reduction in import of crude oil (Forex saving), employment opportunity for the local community, augment incomes of farmers/ local village community, foster entrepreneurship and private investment in green energy sector.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is also supporting the installation of biogas plants and its use as source of alternative fuels for cooking purposes in the country, including rural areas, under the National Biogas Programme. The programme was notified in November, 2022 with budgetary outlay of Rs. 1715 Crore for a period 01.04.2021 to 31.03.2026 to be implemented in two phases. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative in October, 2018 which assures offtake of BioCNG/Compressed Biogas (CBG) after purification through Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for sale as automotive fuels (MNRE, 2023). As per union budget announcement 2023-24, 200 compressed biogas (CBG) plants, including 75 plants in urban areas, and 300 community or cluster-based plants will be established to promote circular economy. The Organic fertilizer i.e. Fermented Organic Manure (FOM)/ Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM) produced from processing of slurry left after biogas extraction will be provided with Market development assistance as per Fertilizer Control Order (1985).