The Meenangadi panchayat in Wayanad district of Kerala, which has received Panchayati Raj ministry's Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar for exemplary work towards achieving net-zero carbon emission, is setting up a carbon neutral learning lab for effective knowledge sharing.
Delegations from different states, including Karnataka, have been visiting the panchayat after the Panchayati Raj ministry highlighted the 'Carbon Neutral Meenangadi' project last year as a model that can be replicated in all states. It came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's declaration at the Glasgow summit that India aims at achieving net zero carbon emission.
The upcoming carbon-neutral learning lab will have training facilities and a demonstration of the technical and scientific aspects of the Carbon Neutral Meenangadi project that was initiated in 2016.
Meenangadi panchayat president K E Vinayan told DH that the Panchayati Raj ministry's award would bring more attention to the panchayat's ongoing efforts to attain zero carbon emission. Delegates from various parts of the country are frequently visiting the panchayat to learn about the initiatives. Recently three delegations from Abdul Nazeer Sab State Institute for Rural Development in Karnataka visited Meenangadi as part of efforts to replicate the model in panchayats in Karnataka.
The major initiative under the Carbon Neutral Meenangadi project is tree banking which provides annual income to individuals for planting trees. So far 7,516 trees were planted by 157 persons and they received Rs. 50 per tree annually. The incentive is now being increased to Rs. 100. Around 1.5 lakh trees was also planted in the panchayat under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Ajith Tomy, programme officer of NGO Thanal, which is implementing the project, said that geo-tagging of all the trees was done and the target is to have at least five lakh trees of 25 different species. A review of the Carbon emission level, which got delayed due to Covid, would be also conducted soon.
A climate literacy campaign to make people aware of the impacts of climate change and the need for mitigation measures, installation of solar power plants, waste management, and promotion of e-vehicles are the other components of the project. Apart from panchayat's plan funds, funds are also sourced from CSR initiatives of various institutions. The upcoming carbon-neutral learning lab would help the effective sharing of knowledge with other states, he said.