By- Rushank Kumar (Research Fellow)

INTRODUCTION

Introducing the novel idea of a “Bartan Bank”—a community-led project intended to transform how village panchayat households manage kitchen utensils during celebrations/community functions or gatherings. Inspired by India’s past culture of community cooperation and based on shared resources, Bartan Bank seeks to develop an affordable and long-lasting solution to the widespread problem of purchasing and caring for utensils in rural areas. This initiative calls for creating public storage facilities where locals can check out and return utensils, reducing the cost of purchasing utensils, environmental preservation, and creating the feeling of community togetherness. In addition to meeting practical requirements, the Bartan Bank promotes a collaborative spirit by offering an alternative to private ownership. This initiative enables village communities to jointly manage resources and foster a more resilient and integrated community.

The concept of Bartan Bank came from Rajasthan Women sarpanch, Niru Yadav, who was invited in an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Yadav, also known as “Hockey wali Sarpanch”, has taken various intiatives to improve quality of life in her area, including the idea of bartan bank.

HOW IS BARTAN BANK IMPLEMENTED IN THE PANCHAYATS?

To Implement the idea of Bartan Bank to all the panchayats requires a structured and scalable approach, which should be implemented in a systematic manner throughout all the Panchayats, to increase its extent.

In the first stage, the pilot program initiates by selecting a few panchayats ready to participate. Determining what category of utensils are in demand and gauging community interest is acquired by examining the requirements of the community by surveys and community meetings. Further step is providing the Bartan Bank with infrastructure and logistics, such as a system for categorising items and space for storage. Along with the execution, various bodies should come forward in order to raise public awareness about the advantages of Bartan Bank. After that, a trial operation lets residents borrow and return utensils while continuously monitoring and collecting feedback. The pilot program’s success is assessed during the refining and expansion phase, and the infrastructure and procedures are further modified as necessary.

IMPACTS

Sustainability: Looking at India’s current plastic waste, which is around 9.3 million annually, there is no doubt that the initiative is a significant step towards reducing the use of plastic and paper-made plates, cups, glasses, etc., thus reducing plastic waste, in various parts of the country. Since waste management is the primary concern for the Indian government, this small step will help control the waste, and the focus can be on the waste management part. 

Community cooperation: While most of India’s population (around 65%) still resides in rural areas, this initiative not only helps promote community spirit but also empowers the community to take charge of its resources and needs, promoting a sense of self-reliance among the individuals and communities.

Reduce individual expenses: Any social gathering or community functions require financial investment, whether organized by an individual or a group. The Bartan Bank reduces the cost of buying extra utensils, be it paper, plastic, or steel, thus minimizing the financial burden to some extent.

Expansion: With the success of these banks, more items, like tents, can be added to help the people and encourage more people to use the utensils provided by the bank.

While the Bartan Banks are a boon for society and the environment, they do face some challenges and have some consequences of their own.

Maintenance of Utensils: Although steel utensils are durable, the question of their maintenance is concerning. So, it becomes crucial to ensure that the borrowed utensils are in good condition while they are borrowed and returned.

Infrastructure: Availability and maintenance of infrastructure or storage spaces for utensils, considering the limited resources in some villages, is one of the challenges. Enough space and area should be allocated for the utensils. 

Access to utensils: There are certain times during the year when the functions and gatherings are lined up. Thus, the demand often exceeds the availability, which may lead to limited access to utensils and create a conflicting situation between individuals and groups for the use of utensils.

Social Norms: The issue of untouchability is not new in Indian society. Sharing the same utensils with people from backward classes can be seen as impure and can even lead to the social exclusion of the backward classes. Thus, individuals might hesitate to use items others have used due to food preferences and cultural norms.

Maintaining Hygiene: Without proper education and monitoring, there may be concerns about utensils’ cleanliness, impacting the initiative’s success. Even after mentioning cleanliness, people ignore the guidelines and do not take the necessary steps to clean utensils.

Cost management: In cities like Noida, where a separate body is formed for the Bartan Bank initiative, it is mentioned that people have to bear the transportation cost. Even if the utensils are freely available, the income dynamics in a particular city/area can still hinder the people from using them. Thus, these Bartan Banks should be available near the towns/villages.

Applicability: Until now, there have been selected areas, mainly villages and small towns, where the initiative has been implemented, but most of India’s waste comes from cities where gatherings or celebrations are on a much larger scale, leading to more waste. Hence, it should be implemented in the cities as well. 

 Along with all the challenges the initiative faces, there is also a significant lack of awareness among the individuals involved, making its applicability difficult. Thus, the state and local governments should develop ways to educate people about not just the benefits of Bartan Banks but also its societal and environmental effects and how it will affect their lives.

THE FUTURE AHEAD: ROLE OF ACTORS AND SUGGESTIONS

The Bartan Bank initiative should be gradually expanded to more towns and villages using the lessons acquired from past implementations. In order to obtain more funding and support, cooperation with regional NGOs and government organizations becomes essential.

Advocating for supportive policies, mobilizing resources, and implementing thorough training programs are necessary for the statewide implementation of the initiative. The effort can only be successful with the help of government subsidies, corporate sponsorships, and charitable organizations, as these organizations are responsible for the financial aid and implementation and monitoring. 

A framework should be designed for monitoring and evaluating different areas ­­–– including measures for cost savings, environmental impact, and community well-being. For efficient operation of the banks, training programs for local leaders and community members should be conducted, and adaptability to local circumstances, active community involvement, and ongoing outreach and education are essential things to consider during implementation. 

Recent instances highlight practical community-driven projects across the globe. In some panchayats in Kerala, “utensil banks” have been set up to provide kitchenware for special occasions like festivals. In other parts of the country, such as Indore, Noida, Kanpur, Jaipur, Gurugram, and Odisha, the banks have been set up and have shown positive results. Different villages have seen positive results after implementing the initiative. Thus, the Gram Panchayats and the Municipal Corporations are the crucial actors for implementation. The two bodies act as a bridge between the people and the state or central government, thus they understand the population’s dynamics better than any other external actor. Hence, it will be better to initiate and implement the initiative through the local bodies, keeping the state government, Union ministries, and NGOs as secondary actors. 

CONCLUSION

For developing countries like India, with limited resources and a growing population, waste management becomes a concerning issue because of the environmental challenges plastic waste offers. According to various reports, India holds the second position in terms of Plastic pollution. Therefore, initiatives like Bartan Bank have become essential to control plastic waste. Initiatives like Bartan Bank do not seem to be mentioned anywhere exclusively around the globe, which gives India a great opportunity to be one of the first countries to implement it all over the country, not just in villages but also in towns and cities.