Environment engineer of the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee N. Ramesh has won the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP) for his efforts to improve the environment in and around his village of Pillayarkuppam off the Cuddalore Main Road.
The award, instituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, is given to individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions towards environment protection and improvement.
“The award was a dream comes true for me. I aimed for it even when I was in college, which was why I decided to concentrate on the environment. Through the years I have worked on a number of projects, including the banning of plastic in the village,” he explained.
Among his contributions was the protest rally he led to the Assembly in order to ban Red Category industries from the Bahour area to prevent pollution of the groundwater and the Bahour Lake.
He also started an organisation, the Evergreen Foundation, which works in and around the village.
Through the IGPP, Mr. Ramesh has received Rs. 2,00,000 as award money. He plans to use the interest earned on the money to start new projects.
While his projects have mainly concentrated on the Bahour area, it is important to bring environment awareness to the rest of Puducherry, he said.
He plans to expand his foundation to take care of the needs of the entire Union Territory, he added.
