Kerala govt observes World Environment Day, organises Haritha Sabhas

The Kerala government on Monday observed World Environment Day by holding Haritha Sabhas (green assemblies) and launching a campaign against plastic use across the state, among other initiatives.

Kicking off the state-level Haritha Sabha, Local Self Government Department minister M B Rajesh said law enforcement needs to be strengthened to make the state garbage-free.

Launching the 'Beat Plastic Pollution' campaign, a collaboration of tourism sector stakeholders and local community on World Environment Day, Tourism minister P A Mohammed Riyas said all people are duty-bound to keep the tourism centres in the state clean.

Rajesh said awareness campaigns alone would not yield the desired results for the 'State with No Waste' programme.

"Even as consistent campaigns and projects focus on waste disposal, total cooperation and support by the public is needed to achieve the target of making Kerala completely garbage-free by March 2024... Also, the rules and legal measures need to be enforced strictly to see that our surroundings are kept clean without being littered with garbage and pollutants," Rajesh said.

The Local Self Government Department (LSGD) convened Haritha Sabhas with the active participation of Local Self Government Institutions (LSGIs), marking the completion of the goals set for the first phase of the Immediate Action Plan launched to keep Kerala clean and litter-free and plan the future course of action.

"The government aims to make Kerala completely garbage-free by March 2024 through three phases. We have to dispose of bio-waste at its origin and remove garbage mounds from public spaces," Rajesh said.

He added that the second phase of the campaign will conclude on October 31, 2023 and Haritha Sabhas will be convened again on November 1.

Riyas inaugurated a mega beach clean-up and awareness campaign at the famed Hawa Beach at Kovalam near the state capital and said that government agencies are training local communities to make paper and cloth bags to use as an alternative to plastics.

He said that he was confident that tourism stakeholders and entrepreneurs would fully avoid plastics and rely on locally-made products as alternatives and set an example for the world.

The tourism minister also launched the distribution of 1,000 cloth bags made under the 'Smarter Choice of Greener Tomorrow' campaign by RT Mission through its Clean Kerala Initiative.'

The Haritha Sabhas, one of India's largest awareness campaigns, had an attendance of more than two lakh people, the LSGD said, adding that they evaluated the outcome of 'State with No Waste' campaign conducted from March 15, 2023 to June 1, 2023, and discussed the future course of action.