Mansooruddin Faridi

As India completes 75 years as a modern nation, it’s the citizens like Farooq Ahmed Ganai who are behind the country’s transformation at the grassroots and India becoming the cynosure of the world as a land of thousand revolutions.

With his now well-known idea of the gold-for-plastic scheme that had made Sadiwara, a remote village in the Hillar Shahabad block of South Kashmir's Anantnag district India’s first plastic-free village, Ganai has managed to change the mindsets and prepare villagers for embracing more changes.

A professional lawyer, Ganai says his incentive of gold-for plastic to maintain cleanliness is not just about making people rich; he has managed to change attitudes and make village people live with awareness. “The behavior change should create a sense of responsibility towards environmental protection,” he told Awaz-the voice in an exclusive conversation.

Sarpanch Farooq Ahmed Ganai posing with members of the local youth Club

As he was elected sarpanch (village head) through his pioneering work, Ganai has become an inspiration for everyone in the Kashmir Valley. Within 15 days of the launch of the campaign, the entire village was declared plastic free. This campaign has gained a lot of popularity and has been appreciated by all and even adopted by other Panchayats and the state of Telangana.

​Farooq Ahmed Ganai said that this is just the beginning as he plans to extend his initiative across India and turn Sadiwara into a mode village. “l I do not consider it a success, it is the first step to success. I have a long journey ahead. We are determined to take out campaign up to Kanyakumari”.

Ganai told Awaz-the Voice that he is not associated with any political party but when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Swachchya Bharat Abnhiyaan, he realized that he could be a part of this initiative. “I launched my initiative to keep my village and its water bodies clean. I saw people connecting with me very quickly. Our Deputy Commissioner Dr. Basharat Qayyum, Block development officer (BDO) Aamir Hussain and ACD Riaz Ahmed also became a part of this initiative. I received help at every level. Awqaf (committee) extended a hand and the municipality came forward while the local youth club rallied together. All this encouraged me to dream big and finally brought success and changed attitudes.

Ganai says it’s a reality that garbage and especially plastic garbage can not be removed from public spaces just by creating awareness. “For this it is necessary to create a change in the attitude of all the people. This is the most important part of any mission.”

However, Ganai says changing attitudes would depend a lot on the action of the leaders, and in this case, it was him.

Sarpanch Farooq Ahmed Ganai with village youth

“We started this campaign from my house. I started removing all the solid waste in front of my house and when people saw a lawyer who is also the village head (Sarpanch)j and a social volunteer cleaning the drains, there was a change in people’s attitudes.”

“Believe me, in just 15 days my locality was spruced up. Even today while returning from the court, I gather some people and together we chose a place that had a trash pile. I believe that money can't change everything;  it's your attitude that creates a revolution.”

اFarooq Ahmed Ganai says that the campaign was formally launched on January 7, 2023, in a ceremony organized by the Rural Development Department. It gained momentum when the village administration organized three community participation programs within 15 days of its launching. “We have cleaned at least 10 places in a one-kilometer radius of Sadewara. People are contributing a lot to make this campaign a success.”

He said back then, the Gram Panchayat did not have a proper plastic waste disposal system.

First, we announced the certificate and award. We saw the enthusiasm among the people and it had a positive effect.  When the Panchayat announced the give plastic take gold scheme, villagers were shocked and it ended up mobilizing everyone.

Farooq Ahmad Ganai said that when the gold coin was included in this campaign against plastic garbage, His wife played an important role in it. She announced to give prize coins from her meher gold.

He says that his wife is also associated with the campaign as a responsible citizen. Recently we awarded two gold coins as prizes to Shaukat Ahmed and Shahid Hussain. Along with them Shabir Ahmed Wani and Shakeel Ahmed Wani were given cash prizes of Rs.3000 and Rs.2000 respectively.

Farooq Ahmad Ganai says that if “we do not wake up now, the coming generations will curse us because due to environmental destruction, people will crave water, floods will recur and the earth will drown.”

Sarpanch Farooq Ahmed Ganai with campaign posters

Ganai holistically looks at the environment and warns against consumerist lifestyles. “The land and water we being polluted. In this, plastic garbage is acting as a poison. If we look at the causes of flash floods, plastic garbage is the main one. If you look at the municipal level, plastic waste in drains and drains is also becoming a problem. We have to give up plastic from our lives.”

Farooq Ahmed Ganai says the government of the UT is supporting the villagers in recycling plastic waste. “We have a plan to purchase a machine to make plastic tiles from polythene and beautify lanes of the village with the same. At present, the Panchayat is converting the plastic waste into compact packets of specified size using a hydraulic press system in manual machines donated by the government.” The machine costs about Rs 60,000.

The panchayat has already purchased a machine in which the collected plastic can be melted at a high temperature and then mixed with bitumen for laying the road.

Ganai said volunteers and Panchayat staff will segregate the collected waste and pack it. These compact packages will be delivered to the recycling unit at Leithpura in Pulwama, where they will be granulated for further use by the government and the public.

It was the first attempt of its kind in Kashmir. Ganai says he received support from all quarters. The government is building a shed for garbage. But our success will be if we continue our movement."

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Sadiwara is home to 7,000 people. It has only 60 government employees while 350 young people work as drivers. “I believe that if such a message can come from a backward village, its impact should be felt in every corner of the country,” Ganai said.