Matheran gets a makeover

Lush green landscapes, majestic hills, picturesque bungalows and horses are what define Matheran, India's smallest hill station. It's almost like a work of art that must be treasured forever… but is that too much to hope for, given the onslaught of tourism and subsequent environmental damage?

But steps are being taken to reverse the picture, with the NGO sector teaming up with the administration and locals in the effort to restore Matheran to its original beauty. The ongoing Matheran Green Festival (MGF), being celebrated till May 31, is part of that grand green design.

Green festival

Tourism, while being a boon to this hill station, is also its bane, with a large number of visitors throwing garbage around. "Matheran is a small and a delicate place but the percentage of footfalls is very high. It's a challenge to control the waste they produce, and how they interact with the environment," says Prachi Ujjwal, co-founder of The New Bombay Design and MGF curator.

The festival, now in its second year, works with Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council and Matheran Pratisthan, an NGO set up to realise the vision of putting the hill station on the global map.

Apart from reviving the cultural and social aspects of Matheran, MGF also focuses heavily on environment conservation. From waste segregation to electricity generation using biogas, the team at Matheran Pratisthan and the municipal council, with the help of locals, are starting a revolution. Prachi explains, "We start from the waste that is generated every day by tourists, residents and hotels. First, the waste is segregated into biodegradable and nondegradable materials. The biodegradable waste is transported to the biogas plant set up in Matheran and converted into biogas and electricity, which supplies power to the town's street lights. Nondegradable materials like plastic bottles are sent to a crushing machine, which produces biodiesel out of it."

Focus on biodiversity

This year, the festival is also focusing on biodiversity conservation, says Santosh Pawar, secretary of Matheran Pratisthan and a member of Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council. "Many locals are not aware of certain plant species that are unique only to Matheran and hence must be preserved."

Adds Nitin Walmiki of Eco Echo, a research organisation that has partnered with the festival, "For the first time, we have conducted a biodiversity race in Matheran, with the help of TerraNero, an environmental research consultancy. It involved deploying 16 teams to click photographs of trees, flowers, insects, birds, mammals and reptiles, in Matheran, then identifying the species either through Google or other means. Marks were assigned based on how difficult it is to click and identify a species. For example, trees carried the least marks and reptiles, the highest. So essentially, we got ourselves a baseline data of Matheran's biodiversity." Today, Matheran is also home to 50,000 more trees that were planted last year, as part of the first MGF. Another initiative taken up by the team is the prevention of soil erosion. "Many trees fall during monsoon due to excessive soil erosion, which is why the council has built eco-boundaries on various sides of the mountain," says Ujjwal.

Involvement of locals

No initiative can succeed without the involvement of locals. To ensure that each native resident realises the significance of the paradise they are living in, consistent efforts are being made. "Since the first festival last year, locals and tourists have become more aware about cleanliness. You will not spot plastic bottles or wine bottles in the valley or elsewhere today. We've also been able to reopen natural springs in Matheran," says Prachi.
As the planet edges towards global warming and its destructive effects, every sapling planted and every mind illuminated will make a difference. The Matheran Green Festival, which aims at bringing people together to create public art, plant trees, rethink waste management and spread awareness about the importance of nature, is yet another attempt to save ourselves from nature's fury. For more details about the festival, visit www.matheranpratisthan.com.