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The National Cadet Corps (NCC) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to tackle the issue of plastic pollution and achieve the universal goal of clean water bodies through ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’ and ‘Tide Turners Plastic Challenge programme’.
The MoU was signed between Director-General NCC Lt. Gen. Gurbirpal Singh and Resident Representative, UN World Food Programme Bishow Parajuli in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
“The aim of the MoU between the NCC and the UNEP is to synergise and collate efforts towards engaging youth for promoting clean water bodies,” a Defence Ministry statement said. The objective is to engage in capacity building and awareness on environmental sustainability through information sharing and training initiatives; promote opportunities for NCC cadets to participate in appropriate national and international platforms related to environment and climate change and engage in and develop joint initiatives of mutual intent pertaining to environment and climate change, it stated.
The MoU, to remain in force for a period of three years, aims at consolidating, developing and detailing their cooperation and effectiveness to achieve the common objectives in the field of environment, the statement said.
The NCC had, on December 1, 2021, launched ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’, a nationwide campaign, initially for one month, to clean sea shores of plastic and other waste material, while raising awareness about the importance of cleanliness. It was subsequently extended as a pan-India round-the-year campaign to cover rivers and other water bodies as well.
Since the launch of ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’, over 100 tonnes of plastic waste have been collected from nearly 1,900 locations by more than 12 lakh NCC cadets, alumni and volunteers, impacting 1.5 crore people, the Ministry said. “Of the approximately 100 tonnes of collected plastic waste, more than 60 tonnes have been handed over for recycling,” it added.
