DoECC-ഭൂമിത്രസേന ക്ലബ്ബുകൾ

About Bhoomithrasena

About Bhoomithrasena Clubs

BHOOMITHRASENA CLUB PROGRAMME - GUIDELINES

1. OVERVIEW

1.1 Introduction

Addressing environmental issues is a multidisciplinary task, and strong action on awareness-building is essential to find viable solutions to the emerging issues. If taken up at the cutting-edge level, it will help in changing the attitude of society. To attain this objective, it is appropriate to exploit the enormous potential of the young student community, having influence both in the family and in society devoid of any vested interests. The national-level environmental education program, ‘National Green Corps (NGC),’ is being pursued at school-level eco-clubs. To ensure follow-up for the NGC program and to strengthen the environmental commitment of students at the Higher Secondary School and College level in the State, the Directorate of Environment & Climate Change (DoECC) has launched the ‘Bhoomithrasena’ program. Through this program, DoECC established Bhoomithrasena Clubs at the Higher Secondary School (HSS) and College levels in every district of the State. The DoECC has created a web portal (https://schemes.envt.kerala.gov.in/bmc/home) to facilitate the efficient operation of the Bhoomithrasena program.

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Clubs in Kerala

1.2 Objectives

To provide environmental education opportunities for students and involve them in addressing environmental issues in the locality
To encourage the students to appreciate the environment and environmental issues of the locality/region
To harness the considerable human resources represented by students as conduits for societal awareness
To make students practice and advocate sustainable lifestyles
To improve the overall environmental quality of the institution

1.3 Coverage

The 'Bhoomithrasena Club’ program will be supported in all government and aided Colleges and Higher Secondary Schools in the State.

1.4 Methodology

The scheme shall be operated through ‘Bhoomithrasena Clubs’ in participating Colleges and Higher Secondary Schools.
At the institution level, a designated Faculty-in-Charge (FIC) selected by the Head of the institution from the teaching staff, based on their interest in environmental matters, shall coordinate the activities of the Bhoomithrasena Clubs.
Each such Bhoomithrasena Club should have at least 50 student members who are interested in environment-related issues and are ready to contribute a token sum of ₹10/- per year for the club as Membership Fee. There is no upper limit for the number of students.
At the State level, the Directorate of Environment & Climate Change (DoECC) will coordinate the implementation of the program.

1.5 Selection of participant clubs and criteria for selection of Colleges/Higher Secondary Schools

All government and aided colleges/higher secondary schools and university campuses located within Kerala state are eligible to participate. Interested institutions can register new applications online through the web portal https://schemes.envt.kerala.gov.in/bmc/registration. The application will be verified and approved by the State Level Environmental Awareness Evaluation Committee (SLEAEC) of DoECC based on their proposed activities.

2. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

2.1 Initial and Recurring Grants

Each participating institution with a Bhoomithrasena Club will be given assistance of ₹25,000/- in the first year of their registration and an annual recurring grant of ₹15,000/- for consecutive years upon submission of the annual report and financial documents. The student members and FIC of the Bhoomithrasena Club could decide on using the sum for the activities of the club (as suggested in Section 3 given below) in consultation with the Head of the Institution. Utilization Certificate (in KFC Form 44), expenditure statement, and annual report regarding the utilization of the grant amount released shall be submitted to the DoECC on a financial year basis.

2.2 Best Bhoomithrasena Club Awards

Awards will be given to the Bhoomithrasena Clubs based on their performance, and the best clubs will be selected (one from the college level and one from the HSS level) from three zones, such as the South Zone, Central Zone, and North Zone, subject to the approval of the government. The awarded amount shall be granted to the awardee institution, and the club can utilise the amount for undertaking any environment management action plan in the locality. Later, a utilization certificate (in KFC form 44), expenditure statement, and report regarding the utilisation of the award money shall be submitted to the DoECC.

South Zone	Central Zone	North Zone
Thiruvananthapuram	Kottayam	Malappuram
Kollam	Idukki	Wayanad
Alappuzha	Ernakulam	Kozhikode
Pathanamthitta	Thrissur	Kannur
Pathanamthitta	Palakkad	Kasargode

2.3 Fund-flow mechanism

The grants for the Bhoomithrasena Clubs will be released by DoECC to the clubs through the BAMS allotment system for departments/institutions having the DDO system and to the Plan Scheme Treasury Savings Bank (PSTSB) accounts of the institutions that are not under the DDO system. The grant shall be released in a lump sum in advance.

3. ACTIVITIES

List of suggested activities for Bhoomithrasena Clubs (only tentative)

Organise training, workshops, discussions, write-shops, debates, lectures, and popular talks; specific studies/investigations on environmental issues in the colleges/schools and surrounding areas.
Field visits to local environmentally important sites, including polluted and degraded sites, wildlife parks, coastal areas, etc.
Promote activities to reduce carbon footprints and sustainable lifestyle practices
Organise awareness camps to propagate waste minimisation, personal hygiene habits, and sustainable lifestyles.
Observance of environmentally significant days

1. National Cleanliness Day - 30th January
2. World Wetland Day - 2nd February
3. World Wildlife Day - 3rd March
4. International Day of Forests - 21st March
5. World Water Day - 22nd March
6. World Meteorological Day - 23rd March
7. World Earth Day - 22nd April
8. International Day for Biological Diversity - 22nd May
9. World Environment Day - 5th June
10. World Ocean Day - 8th June
11. World Nature Conservation Day - 28th July
12. International Day for the World’s Indigenous People - 9th August
13. World Ozone Day - 16th September
14. Green Consumer Day - 28th September
15. World Sustainable Transport Day - 26th November
16. National Pollution Prevention Day - 2nd December
17. International Mountain Day - 11th December
Note: The clubs must observe at least two of the above-mentioned days in a year.

Mobilise awareness against environmentally unsustainable practices like usage of single-use plastics, improper disposal and management of waste, consumerism and resource wastage, etc.
Promotion of principles of Mission LiFE: Lifestyle for Environment.
Action-based activities like installation and maintenance of waste management units, construction of water harvesting structures, recycling practices, tree planting, cleanliness drives within and outside the campus, etc.
Prepare inventories of pollution sources; take mitigation measures if possible; and if not, forward them to the enforcement agencies.
Monitor the water quality of water bodies in and around the campus, including drinking water sources, and ascertain their potability and suitability for usage. Assistance from designated authorities like the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) can be sought in quality monitoring.
Conduct Environmental Auditing (eg. Energy/Water Auditing, Waste Management Auditing, etc).
Training programs and workshops in environmental-related topics.
Curriculum-related assignments on local environmental issues including pollution monitoring, biodiversity surveys, waste management, documentation of indigenous traditional knowledge, etc.
Prepare locally relevant resource materials.
Joint hands with other authorised clubs like the National Service Scheme (NSS), Student Police Cadet (SPC), Aapda Mitra, Wetland Mitra, etc., and the local self- governments.
Note: The clubs are required to record details of their activities, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative aspects. This includes metrics such as the weight of plastic/electronic waste collected and properly managed, conserved energy and water, and contributions to reducing carbon emissions. All of these specifics should be incorporated into the annual activity report.

4. ROLE OF IMPLEMENTERS

4.1 DoECC
- To coordinate participating institutions and organize state-level activities.
- To organize training programs for the FICs and student members.
- To provide publicity and to encourage the participation of more institutions and students in the Bhoomithrasena program.
- To organize the evaluation and monitoring of the scheme with the help of the State Level Environmental Awareness Evaluation Committee (SLEAEC).

4.2 State Level Environmental Awareness Evaluation Committee

(i) Composition

1.	Secretary to Government, Environment Department	Chairman
2.	Director, Directorate of Environment & Climate Change	Member
3.	Director of Collegiate Education, Kerala	Member
4.	Director of Higher Secondary Education, Kerala	Member
5.	Member Secretary, Kerala State Biodiversity Board	Member
6.	Member Secretary, Kerala State Pollution Control Board	Member
7.	Environment Programme Manager, Directorate of Environment & Climate Change	Convener

(ii) Functions
- Accord approval to the participating institutions.
- Review the performance of the Bhoomithrasena Clubs and select the best clubs at the zonal level.
- To review periodically the implementation of the scheme and suggest the activities to be taken up at the State and zonal levels

4.3 FICs of the Bhoomithrasena Clubs
The FICs of Bhoomithrasena Clubs play a key role in the implementation of the scheme. Under the supervision of the Head of the Institution, the FIC should take creative steps to implement the activities suggested in the program that are relevant to the region. He/she should encourage more students to join the club. The main functions of FIC include:
- To bring together the Bhoomithrasena Club members every week for at least one hour and carry out some environmental-related activities.
- To encourage the students to suggest activities for the following weeks and make necessary preparations for the execution of the planned activities in consultation with the Head of the Institution.
- To document the activities of the club in terms of its qualitative and quantitative impacts on the environment and communicate to DoECC with the support of numerical data and photographs through the web portal.
- To compile the list of students eligible to receive the Bhoomithrasena Certificate.
- Submit the annual report, expenditure statement, utilization certificate (KFC Form 44) to the Head of the Institution for its final submission to DoECC.
- Participate in all the interactive meetings and training programs organised by the DoECC .
4.4 Head of the Institution
- Overall supervision and guidance for the effective functioning of the Bhoomithrasena Club programs in the institution
- Designate faculty-in-charges for Bhoomithrasena Clubs
- Timely reporting of changes in Bhoomithrasena Club administration at the institutional level, including replacement of FICs
- Monitor fund utilization and verification of bills, vouchers, and accounts.
- Verify, approve, and submit the list of students eligible to receive the Bhoomithrasena Certificate, Annual Report, Expenditure Statement, and Utilization Certificate (in KFC Form 44) to DoECC through the Bhoomithrasena web portal on or before 31st March of each financial year.

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