Shimla: They may be young, but don't get caught littering in front of them. Over 10,000 schoolchildren are virtually on the prowl in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, ready to teach a lesson or two on non-biodegradable waste.
These children, designated as "eco-monitors", keep an eye on areas around their school to catch people who dump polythene bags, sachets, empty liquor bottles and clothes in the open.
"We have initially selected 76 schools — both private and government — where teams of students from Class 5-12 have been constituted.
"The teams visit the localities twice a week after school to check littering, especially of non-biodegradable items," Madhu Soni, senior project consultant with the state pollution control board, said.
Each team looks to spread awareness on the need for proper disposal of non-biodegradable waste.
"In case somebody is repeatedly found strewing waste in the open, the students even embarrass the violator. They have been trained to virtually force the violator to retrieve the waste and dump it at a proper place," she said.
"If the violation continues, then the students inform their school principal. The principal further informs the deputy commissioner for penal action against defaulters," Soni added.
All the identified schools are located in areas under 12 urban local agencies, including Shimla, Solan, Dharamsala, Una, Mandi and Nahan, where the problem of littering of non-biodegradable waste is acute. These places are frequented by a large number of tourists, who are among the major polluters.
Ravi Sharma of the state council for science, technology and environment said that the schools were roped in under the remove polythene, save environment campaign launched by the government on September 25.
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