PATNA: In July 2020, philanthropist billionaire Bill Gates founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in a media briefing, had given some pat-on-the-back reactions on Bihar govt initiatives to mitigate the climate change crisis.
“I was impressed that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was saying that he had a problem with climate change. He was trying to get our advice and help on seeds and water supply and on how to deal with climate change.” Gates had said.
Just a year after, East Champaran district of Bihar was got the Elets 2nd National Water Sanitation Innovation Award for excellence in rainwater harvesting in 2021, and in 2022, it was honored as the best district in east zone in the third national water awards.
In 2023, the Asar Social Impact Advisors, a private firm that works on environmental issues, did a detailed survey in the district and discovered that the flagship mission of the state government, Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali abhiyan (JJHA), has transformed the district from a climate-ravaged area to a climate- friendly one.
“We choose East Champaran for our detailed survey because many Himalaya-originating rivers flow through the district. These rivers flood the whole north Bihar, leaving the district one of the most severely affected.We aimed to survey out how the state government initiatives under JJHA have brought about changes in the district,” Asar project head Munna Jha says.
The JJHA is an ambitious mission of the state government, engaging 15 state departments like forest, PHED, agriculture, urban development etc, according to project director Rahul Kumar. He says the Mission, which was started by the Bihar government in 2019, has done some remarkable work in the field of climate sustenance, rejuvenating water bodies, social forestry, conservation of biodiversity, renewable energy, solid waste management and irrigation.
Here are some of the key areas in which development works were going on :
Social forestry
This project aimed to prepare a blueprint for boosting green cover in the state and generating employment under MGNREGA and state-sponsored Jeevika scheme. The district administration deployed ‘van poshaks’ to look after the forest areas. Most of the ‘van poshaks’ earn about Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,600 per month through MGNREGA and Jeevika scheme.
Rahul Kumar says, “The Mission has so far planted 15.15 crore saplings across the state, and all engaged workers are paid through MGNREGA. And, the best part of the programme is that the survival score of plants is almost 80% due to friendly climate in the state. Moreover, we have set a target to all staff, workers, and Jeevika Didis responsible to look after the saplings.”
Jha says his organisation’s team surveyed around 30 lakh saplings planted in East Champaran district, especially in Areraj, Paharpur and Harsiddhi blocks, from 2019 to 2023. “Credit for the survival of saplings must also be given to a large number of locals engaged in planting and conserving the saplings,” he says.
Watershed management
Under the programme, Rahul says, 4,208 water bodies are geo-tagged and mapped under the state government’s schemes such as Catch the Rain, Amrit Sarovar Scheme and Jal Shakti Mission, etc. “We also started the rainwater harvesting process across the state. Under the programme, we set-up rainwater harvesting in all old government buildings, such as secretariats, and directed the building construction department to ensure that all new upcoming buildings fitted up with these facilities in the state. No building plan will be approved without rainwater harvesting. You can see the facility in government buildings in Patna,” Kumar says, adding that the municipal bodies were also briefed to give some rebate in holding tax to all private house owners who install the rainwater harvesting facility in their respective houses.
Under the watershed management, altogether 18,120 water bodies were freed from all types of encroachment, according to data released by JJHA on January 10, 2024. “We also removed overgrown water hyacinth, using machines that were specially procured for the purpose,” Kumar says.
Renewable energy
JJHA director added that rebate in holding tax was also introduced for those houses who install solar panels on their respective rooftops. “In first stage, we started installing rooftop panels in all government buildings, panchayats, etc. In the next phase, we instructed the education department to start the work of solar panel installation in all schools which have 3000sqft or more space. In the same way, we also briefed the health department to install the panels in all government hospitals,” he says.
The JJHA also started the work to set-up floating panels in lakes and ponds. “We introduced a new initiative, ‘upar bijli, niche machhli’,[“Above electricity, below fish”] where we install solar panels in floating mode in lakes and ponds. The Kabirabad lake in Darbhanga was the first place in Bihar where we floated the panels,” Kumar says.
