The award and the process
To choose the most outstanding environmental effort was by all means a daunting task. There were several worthy candidates.
To begin with, the award focussed on individuals. Realising that there were several awards in India to honour individual efforts, Down To Earth decided to highlight community efforts. Such initiatives are often hidden from media attention as several people get together and it is difficult to isolate one single heroic personality who stands out.
More than 1,000 missives were sent to environmentalists across the country, soliciting their nominations. There were 149 entries in all, 106 of which were for individuals. Reporters and stringers attached with Down To Earth then visited the nominations that made through the first shortlisting. The shortlisted ones - 35 in all - were for efforts spread out across the country, from Kashmir to Kerala and Nagaland to Rajasthan.
The elaborate reports were put before a jury broadly representative of the Indian civil society. The panel comprised N C Saxena, secretary to the Planning Commission; Kamla Choudhary, chairperson of the Society for Promotions of Wastelands Development; Anupam Mishra, head of the environmental cell of the Gandhi Peace Foundation; Rahul Dev, eminent media personality; and Vikram Lal, trustee of the Vikram Sarabhai Foundation. The panel debated and discussed the merit of each and every nomination.
After a series of consultations, the community of Bhaonta-Kolyala village emerged the winner.
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