AID Saathi and environmentalist Mr. C. Srinivasan has visited us in 2008 for a talk about his approach to sustainable development. We are glad to host him again in 2009. This time Srinivasan wants to share with us his work on how, "the top three most easily available resources in India namely sunlight, man power and solid waste can be used properly to bring crores of Rupees in direct and indirect savings which we are losing every second. Environmentally friendly and user friendly practices should be converted into jobs and through that we can take forward our country into the next stage of development - one that is truly sustainable"
Mr. Srinivasan's work involves integration of reforestation, solid
waste management and livelihood generation in the southern Indian city
of Vellore. His approach to solid waste management has been applied by
the municipal corporation throughout
Vellore District. Further, his model has been identified as a template
for zero waste management by the Indian Government and many other
cities across India have adopted it. United Nations Human Settlements
Program (UN-HABITAT) has identified Mr. Srinivasan's approach as 'Good
Practice'. He is supported by UNICEF, Government of India, AID and a
number of other non-profit organizations. Srinivasan has designed an
innovative and scalable solution to managing solid waste and has
generated more than a thousand jobs, mostly for poor women, who form
self-help groups.
Mr.Srinivasan's work on sustainable development:
Decades of deforestation
in the name of development of the 256 hillocks surrounding Vellore had
caused severe soil erosion. This erosion had exposed the rocky faces of
the terrain, which constantly radiated heat and resulted in Vellore
becoming one of the hottest cities in Tamilnadu. The deforestation had
severely affected ground water to the extent that it had gone down by
several hundred feet. The problem was exacerbated by the quarry and
timber lobbies, who carried out unregulated habitat destruction for
tapping the regions resources. Poverty was another contributing factor,
with the poor inhabitants of the 96 villages in the region
irresponsibly pursuing detrimental activities such as clearing vast
tracts of forests for cattle raring, destroying vegetation (by setting
the forest on fire) for illicit liquor brewing and firewood. Then, in
1995, Mr.
Srinivasan, a recent Mathematics graduate, entered the scene.
He tirelessly worked to improve the livelihood of the people of
Vellore. He realized that long term development was possible only if
the environment and the resources of the land are not depleted by
developmental activities.
Mr.
Srinivasan initially organized a team of 11 people to restore
the hills. They started by planting trees and nurseries in the
hillocks, desilting ponds, constructing rain water harvesting systems,
putting out forest fires and protecting the grasslands from grazing.
The success of this initiative motivated Mr.
Srinivasan to start a
string of related projects. To prevent deforestation for food
cultivation,
Srinivasan and his team encouraged roof top cultivation of
vegetables. Extensive projects were undertaken for collecting and
composting waste from temples, schools, houses, apartments, and food
markets. This resulted in reducing the economic burden of procuring
fertilizing products. It also resulted in villagers adopting the
sustainable practice of organic farming. Economically viable renewable
energy projects were completed to provide the villagers with cheap
energy and reduce their dependence on firewood as a cheap source of
energy. These activities also created hundreds of jobs for the poor,
and the system developed into a self-sustained small scale, non-profit
enterprise.
