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Green Governance: Meet the IAS Officer Powering aRecycling Revolution in Hyderabad!

by Lekshmi Priya SNovember 3, 2018, 7:51 pm

Mahatma Gandhi had once said, “The earth has enough resources for our need, but

not for our greed.”

The manner in which we are overexploiting resources and polluting our planet to meet

our needs suggests that it won’t be long before we wipe them out completely, and

leave nothing behind for our future generations.

CIVIL SERVANTS ENVIRONMENT HYDERABAD

Currently the Zonal Commissioner (West Zone) of the Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation (GHMC), Dasari has been dedicatedly invested innumerous recycling initiatives under her jurisdiction for over two years now.

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It is times like these that must make us adopt measures like recycling plastic and

utilising these as resource materials that can effectively reduce our waste burden on

the planet.

India roughly generates around 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste a day, as per a 2017

report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

While this study comprises extrapolated data from about 60 major cities across the

country, yet another study showcases that almost 90 per cent of this generated plastic

invariably ends up in landfills or water bodies instead of recycling, with about half

falling under the single-use category.

Many individuals and non-profit organisations in India have been vehemently

championing the cause of recycling and upcycling plastic for several years now.

However, for these practices to be conceived and implemented at the administrative

level is something that is slowly catching up.

Leading the way among civil servants, who are also eco-warriors,is IAS officer Hari Chandana Dasari, who is spearheading a ‘green’revolution of a different kind in Hyderabad through various plasticrecycling initiatives across the city.

Currently the Zonal Commissioner (West Zone) of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal

Corporation (GHMC), Dasari has been dedicatedly invested in numerous recycling

initiatives under her jurisdiction for over two years now.

Right from installing upcycled furniture made from unused tyres and old oil drums at

over 120 parks in the city to the conception of housing and sanitation projects where

paver tiles and roofing sheets are made of recycled plastic, Hyderabad is witnessing a

remarkable change, thanks to Dasari’s extra interest in the initiative.

So, what prompted her to take up recycling and initiate various initiatives across the

cityscape of Hyderabad?

Hari Chandana Dasari, Zonal Commissioner (West Zone), GHMC.

“The idea first occurred to me about two years ago. We had a lot of old tires lying

strewn across our municipal premises and upon noticing, I was keen upon putting

them to some use. These tyres were repurposed as upcycled furniture that was

originally used in our offices. Then, I wondered, why not scale up the initiative and take

it to public spaces,” says Dasari to The Better India.

Today, if you visit any one of the public parks in the city, not onlywould you find benches, seats, flower pots, and even dustbinsmade of upcycled tyres or oil drums but also colourful paver tileslining the walkways for pedestrians that are made of recycledplastic waste!

Park seats made out of upcycled tyres. Courtesy: Bamboo House India.

Seats made out of old oil drums. Courtesy: Bamboo House India.

Working on this recycling crusade alongside Dasari is Prashant Lingam of Bamboo

House India, a social enterprise based in the city that has been providing eco-friendly

and sustainable low-cost housing solutions for a decade now.

Colourful paver tiles made out of recycled plastic. Courtesy: Bamboo House India.

An office made of part bamboo fixtures and part recycled plastic in a public park near the KPHB colony inKukatpally. Courtesy: Bamboo House India.

In fact, one of the projects undertaken by Prashant in collaboration with the GHMC on

an experimental basis was covered by The Better India earlier this year, where an

office made of part bamboo fixtures and part recycled plastic was installed in a public

park near the KPHB colony in Kukatpally.

“The idea was to push the scope, and cost-effectiveness of alternative construction

materials like recycled plastic, not just among public but also the administrative

echelons and it worked quite well. Many people from the city reached out to us

directly, asking if they could also have recycled plastic paver tiles in their homes.

Representatives from municipal corporations of cities like Mumbai and Pune also got

in touch to ask about our various recycling projects, as they wanted to implement

something similar in their ambit,” mentions Dasari.

She also shares that this is a good sign because people are slowly waking to the perils

of plastic and want to actively engage in recycling activities but don’t know where to

start. “When civic bodies engage in eco-friendly initiatives like these, it sets an

example for its citizens to follow and imbibe in their lives,” she adds.

At present, the GHMC is trying its hand at every possible eco-friendly measure that it can feasibly implement across the city.

Upcycled furniture was the start, and this has paved the way forpublic toilets with recycled plastic structures that can dispel waterquite efficiently.

One of Hyderabad’s ‘Give and Share’ kiosk. Courtesy: Bamboo House India.

Structures made use plastic bottles. Courtesy: Bamboo House India.

Seats made using scraps. Courtesy: Bamboo House India.

“Compared to regular structures, the cost of recycled plastic construction materials

might prove to be little higher, but we believe that this will be an offset to the cost that

our environment is paying while answering to all our needs and requirements,” states

Dasari.

Yet another initiative led by Dasari is the ‘Give and Share’ centre, where numerous

kiosks across Hyderabad have erected small 3-walled structures, where people can

donate anything and everything for underprivileged people to pick up.

“All of these structures are constructed using upcycled plastic bottles. While the

initiative allows people to showcase their compassionate side, it also draws their

attention towards upcycling and the greater message of environment conservation.

With that we can hope that more people can forward and take up recycling as a way of

life,” she adds.

Courtesy: Bamboo House India.

Dasari also practices what she preaches and shares that herhousehold has not contributed any form of wet waste to thegarbage dumps in last three years, as 100 per cent of it is routed forcomposting—she has installed a compact biogas unit at her place.

She also has a knack for crafting and uses paper and plastic to prepare items, thus

further reducing her part in adding on to the waste.

You may also like: IAS Officers’ Brainwave Helps Pune Villagers Earn Lakhs from

Their Toilets!

Setting a remarkable example at a personal, professional and public level, GHMC

Commissioner Hari Chandana Dasari is showing the right way for the rest of us

through her recycling crusades in the city, and we hope, many more such creative

initiatives will come along the way.

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Dasari putting her household waste for better purpose.

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Written by Lekshmi Priya S

Shuttling between existentialist views and Grey's Anatomy, Lekshmi has an insanelydisturbing habit of binge reading. An ardent lover of animals and plants, she also specializesin cracking terribly sad jokes.