1.    Title of the Practice:

“Tulsi Green Initiatives”: Towards Building an Environmentally Sustainable Campus.

2.    Objectives of the Practice:

●       Maintaining a clean, beautiful, and healthy green environment on the college campus.

●       To ensure judicious use of environmental resources to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations.

●       To create awareness among the students and staff members about environmental protection and encourage the adoption of good environmental practices.

●       To continuously improve the contribution of students by developing a proper understanding of climate protection and adaptation to climate change and conservation of global resources.

●      Continually improving the efficient use of all resources, including energy and water, and reducing where possible, the amount of waste consumed and produced, waste disposal, and recycling.

3.     The Context:

The relationship between Government Tulsi College (GTC)Anuppur and Nature is a long and enduring relationship, which is known to the students and staff of the college. The college is over six acres of land with adequate classrooms, laboratories, and a library. The college has infrastructural facilities for indoor games like badminton and chess and a playground for various outdoor sports like volleyball, kho-kho, kabaddi, and football.The college campus has beautiful greenery. 

Since 1972, the college has always taken sustainable initiatives towards environmental protection at the core of all activities. The green campus of "Tulsi Vatika" is an example of this. The best practice of the College' is “Tulsi Green Initiatives " which aims to build an environmentally sustainable campus that is plastic-free, produces minimal waste, is smoke-free, conserves energy, protects biodiversity, and practices self-sustainability in areas of power, water, and cleanliness.

4.    The Practices:

    Clean Campus Initiative

GTC had resolved to actively coordinate the cleanliness activities outside the college and campus to the vision of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The activities under "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" are done by the NSS and Green Environment Committee members of the college.

     It is committed to continuing this program. The broad view is as follows:

·    Students and staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to creating public awareness about cleanliness and environmental protection by regularly conducting cleanliness drives by the NSS unit of the college. 

·    Taking an oath by the students and staff to maintain cleanliness in the college campus and its surrounding areas on an annual basis. 

·    Programs like poster and slogan competitions, essay writing, speech, and drama are organized on the subject of "Clean India" and "Environment Protection". 

·    Rallies are organized on topics related to "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" in and around the college campus to create mass awareness.

·    Removal or proper disposal of all waste materials such as broken furniture, unused equipment, etc.

 Clean Air Initiative

·       The organization of the annual tree plantation program.

·       Encouraging student unions to organize tree plantation programs.

·       We encourage our students and staff to use public transportation.

·       We encourage carpooling in the college, an activity that will control air pollution and strengthen social interaction.

·       Entry of vehicles inside the campus is restricted for one day a week (Saturday) to discourage the use of private vehicles.

Smoke-Free Premises

In compliance with the framework provided by the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) 2007-2008, the college, as a step in this direction, prohibits smoking and the use of other tobacco products, smoking and use of tobacco in and around the campus. strictly prohibited. Anti-Smoking Committee of the College: Ensures the implementation of the Anti-Smoking Policy.            

Waste Management Procedures

To reduce and manage the waste generated on the college campus, the following specific procedures are adopted to ensure the protection of the environment and the contribution of Government Tulsi College in solid waste management -

●       For the systematic collection of waste produced on the premises, separate dustbins are kept for the dry, wet, and e-waste. 

●     Waste paper and plastic bottles, old furniture, and appliances are sold to local scrap dealers for recycling, and the remaining unusable waste is sent for disposal outside the premises by municipal waste vans. 

●      Since the Corona period, our efforts are running to increase the contribution to environmental protection by gradually reducing the use of paper by supporting the digitization of the online admission process and internal assessment records. 

●       A new practice, an e-library (N-List) has also been arranged in the college. Also, students and teachers are encouraged to use email for assignment submission.

Curriculum and academic activities related to the environment and climate

●      Under the National Education Policy 2020, two professional certificate courses related to medicinal plants and organic farming are running in the College.

●      The syllabus related to environment is available for degree programs in various regular courses of graduation and post-graduation programs.

●   Under the National Education Policy 2020, single and group projects are conducted in various departments on local level importance like environment, climate change, biological security, and biodiversity.

●   Different lectures, invited lectures, webinars, quiz competitions, poster making, Rangoli making, rally awareness meetings, and field visits are conducted in the college related to the environment and climate.

 Awareness Initiative

Awareness campaigns, seminars, workshops, conferences, and other interactive sessions are being organized in the college to facilitate the effective implementation of green campus energy and environmental policies. GTC encourages all the departments and NSS, NCC, and others to organize various activities, competitions, and training sessions that will bring positive environmental change at the grass root level.

 Plastic Free Campus

 GTC has been performing most of its duties in the matter of solid waste management since its inception. In view of the resolution of the Government of India to ban all single-use plastics due to the hazardous effects of plastic use and pollution, the college administration has strictly banned the use of single-use plastics on its campus to make it a "Plastic Free Campus".

6. Evidence of Success:

·       GTC has a Clean and Green Campus. There are approximately 145 trees, a Tulsi Vatika with many plants and shrubs.

·    The college building is constructed in such a way that the college courtyard, the internal corridors and the windows of the teaching rooms are open.  Due to the open courtyard, open corridors and open windows, natural sunlight reaches the college even in dense viability in the month of fog. That is why we do not need fossil fuel-based generators for lighting the college even during power cuts.  This can also be confirmed from the fact that the amount of electricity bill of lakhs of cores of families in India is more than the average monthly electricity bill of the college. 

·       GTC is a “Plastic-Free & Tobacco-Free Campus".

·     Most of the students of our college come from rural areas far away from Anuppur, due to which they mainly use the public transport service of buses and railways and contribute to reducing air pollution.

·       GTC provides Wi-Fi, Workspaces, and Smart & Virtual Classrooms to reduce the use of paper.

7. Problems Encountered and Resources Required:

●      Lack of space availability to do green practices for example, the maximum geographical area of ​​the college occupied with ​​concrete building construction.

●      An inadequate supply of plastic alternatives increases their cost which makes them less popular in society. 

●      Due to the lack of resources, we are unable to establish a Solar panel unit in our institute.