Governments and the United Nations have set aside certain days in a year to remind humans that the environment needs to recover – hence World Environment Day, or World Bio-diversity Day or World Habitat Day. In India, October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, is observed as a day dedicated to cleaning up public spaces. Hence VIPs and other important dignitaries are seen wielding a broom they hardly know how to use, on this one day. The purpose behind such symbolisms is to ignite a spark among conscious citizens so that the issue becomes a daily concern and instils in them the endeavour to embrace the meaning behind the symbolism. However, that has failed to garner results on the ground.
World Environment Day has been observed for several decades but in the real world trees are being mercilessly slaughtered to make way for roads and quarries and other so-called projects aimed at creating employment. Once trees are brought down there are no attempts to replace them by growing equal number of trees or more in wastelands that are increasing by the day on account of abandoned coal mines and barren hillocks which are clearly visible enroute to the rural hamlets of Meghalaya. Charcoal production is banned but in Meghalaya there’s a huge gap between making a law and implementing it. There are no dearth of laws but those wielding money and political power ride roughshod over those laws and are never punished. Similarly, since Narendra Modi took over as prime minister of this country in 2014 there has been a huge push for the Swachh Bharat Campaign and now the Swachhta Hi Sewa (Cleanliness is a Service) crusade the mounds of garbage at Marten and across Meghalaya has just accumulated without it being processed. Talks of bringing in companies from outside to deal with the legacy waste has proved infructuous. And the issue is all but forgotten! October 2, observed as a day for cleaning localities has become just a one-day symbolic gesture as if people don’t litter for the rest of the year. A one-day symbolic event is just not working. International organisations like the United Nations which have kick-started many positive movements and national governments need to take stock of such movements and think beyond slogans and symbolism.
The key to making any movement a successful one is community involvement which governments don’t do very well because most movements are implemented in a top-down approach without consulting the communities; learning from their errors and successes and making the community feel it is their idea that is being implemented. This is the only way to ensure that afforestation happens and that rivers regain their clean and pristine nature. In this respect it must be said about Meghalaya that the District Councils have never worked in tandem with the State Government in its community development projects. The least common denominator – the Dorbar Shnong should actually be the implementing agencies for all conservation projects. Words like Climate Change and Climate Adaptation should be translated into the local languages and become part of our vocabulary if we are to see a cleaner, greener environment.
