Content:
1. Waste Not, Celebrate More: The 25th Hornbill Festival Paves the Way for Sustainability!
2. Parliament Question: Enhancing Complaint Redressal Through CPGRAM
Waste Not, Celebrate More: The 25th Hornbill Festival Paves the Way for Sustainability!
- The 25th Hornbill Festival, known as the “Festival of Festivals,” has adopted sustainability by going Zero-Waste and Single-Use Plastic (SUP)-Free.
Relevance: GS 1(Culture) , GS 3(Environment)
- This year’s festival, celebrated in Nagaland, aimed to harmonize cultural celebration with environmental conservation.
Zero-Waste and SUP-Free Initiatives:
- All single-use plastics, including straws, disposable plates, cups, and plastic bags, were banned.
- Vendors were required to use sustainable alternatives like bamboo straws, biodegradable cutlery, leaf-based plates, and paper bags.
- Enforcement teams and volunteers ensured compliance, monitored usage, and educated attendees about eco-friendly choices.
Waste Management Practices:
- A comprehensive waste management system was established with waste segregation at the source.
- Dedicated bins for wet, dry, and recyclable waste, along with trained volunteers to guide disposal.
- On-site composting units handled wet waste, producing compost for local agriculture.
Circular Economy and Community Engagement:
- Food stalls used reusable or compostable utensils, and water refilling stations encouraged visitors to bring their own reusable bottles.
- 42 toilets were installed with strict maintenance schedules.
- Informative and interactive IEC campaigns promoted sustainable behavior among attendees.
Environmental Impact:
- Approximately 1 lakh SUP items were prevented daily, totaling around 1 million fewer items over the 10-day festival.
- The initiative avoided over 50 metric tons of CO₂ emissions, reducing the festival’s carbon footprint.
- Local sourcing of eco-friendly materials contributed to a decrease in transportation-related emissions.
Global Model for Eco-Friendly Events:
- The Hornbill Festival’s success in adopting zero-waste measures can serve as a model for similar events worldwide.
- The festival’s commitment to sustainability aligns with global climate goals .
Parliament Question: Enhancing Complaint Redressal Through CPGRAM
CPGRAMS
- The Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) is an online platform available 24/7 for Indian citizens to lodge grievances related to service delivery by public authorities.
Relevance: GS 2(Governance)
- Accessibility: Citizens can access CPGRAMS through its website, a standalone mobile application, or via the UMANG app.
- Grievance Submission: Users can file complaints against any government department or institution. Each complaint is given a unique registration ID for tracking.
- Tracking and Appeals: The status of grievances can be tracked using the registration ID. If the resolution is unsatisfactory, citizens can provide feedback and file an appeal.
- Role-Based Access: Different ministries and states have role-based access to the system, ensuring that grievances are directed to the appropriate authorities for resolution
Impacts :
CPGRAMS Grievances Redressed:
- 1,12,30,957 grievances were addressed over five years (from January 1, 2020, to October 30, 2024).
- 23,24,323 grievances were redressed in 2024 (from January to October), setting an annual high.
CPGRAMS Reforms:
- The Government implemented the 10-step reforms of CPGRAMS to make the grievance process timely, meaningful, and accessible to citizens.
- 103,183 Grievance Officers were mapped on the portal, reducing the pendency in the Government of India to 54,339 Public Grievances as of October 31, 2024.
Guidelines and Feedback:
- Comprehensive Guidelines for effective grievance redressal were issued on August 23, 2024, integrating various platforms, establishing dedicated grievance cells, appointing experienced nodal officers, and emphasizing root cause analysis and feedback action.
- A Feedback Call Centre, operational since July 2022, has conducted 18,71,754 surveys to gather citizen feedback across multiple languages.
Intelligent Grievance Management System (IGMS):
- An MoU with IIT Kanpur led to the development of the IGMS, an AI/ML-enabled system that supports semantic search, exploratory analysis, and predictive insights, enhancing grievance redressal and citizen engagement.
