(MENAFN- Live Mint) In August 2023, the Election Commission of India (ECI) compiled and reissued consolidated instructions for "Green Elections" ahead of Assembly polls in five states. These guidelines reiterated the ECI's long-standing appeals to political parties and candidates to minimise their environmental impact during campaigns.

Laying the ground rules, the then chief election commissioner (CEC), Rajiv Kumar, said: "India has now set a new global benchmark for holding environmentally sustainable elections with low carbon footprint.''

What the CEC preached then was picked up by a fellow civil servant, Heera Lal Patel, a UP cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who can be credited with initiating India's first Green Election model.

"I conducted Green Elections for the first time in June 2024 at the Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab, after the EC's guidelines were set out. Later that year, in November, I was a returning officer and helped conduct Green Elections in Maharashtra Assembly constituencies, Anushakti Nagar and Chembur,” Patel said.

In 2025, he was the returning officer at the Junagadh by-elections in Gujarat, adopting the same Green template.

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Patel's passion for ecology has led him to areas that bureaucrats prefer not to ingress. Much before the EC's directives, as district magistrate and returning officer, Banda, UP, his work for the environment, planting trees and doing away with plastic, had come to the notice of the government and ecologists. He earned widespread recognition for demonstrating that electoral processes can align with environmental conservation.

"All stakeholders of the election ecosystem have welcomed it and are more than keen to contribute to the process,” Patel, currently secretary, national integration, government of UP, told this reporter.

What exactly are Green Elections? A relatively new concept, it is basically an innovation that has introduced eco-friendly practices to reduce the environmental footprint of the electoral process, aiming to ensure that post-elections, carbon footprint would be tied down to a minimum.

A 2019 study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) revealed that Indian elections can generate around 6,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste from campaign materials alone.

Bid to reduce environmental harm

At its core, the Green Election concept focuses on significantly reducing environmental harm using biodegradable materials, promoting tree plantation drives, and spreading awareness about eco-friendly practices.

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According to Patel, the term 'eco-friendly election' was not easily relatable. "To simplify the concept, I switched to 'Green Election', a phrase that resonates with the public as it combines two ideas-environmental sustainability and democracy,” he said.

"To take the message to its logical conclusion, I have encouraged voters to plant one sapling for every vote they cast,” Patel explains.

Digital campaigns are another significant element of the model. By prioritizing online platforms for outreach and communication, the use of paper in election campaigns is drastically reduced.

The use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which was first noted for its paper-saving potential in 2004, is estimated to have saved approximately 11,520 tonnes of paper during the 2024 elections, according to the Election Commission.

For Heera Lal Patel, the Green Election model is not just a logistical strategy but a cultural shift toward sustainable democratic practices. "This is an opportunity to instil a sense of environmental responsibility in citizens while redefining how elections are conducted in India. By making sustainability a central theme, the initiative sets a precedent for integrating environmental considerations into large-scale governmental processes,” he points out.

According to him, "When normal polling booths have been altered in various shades of green, the energy that it exudes among the voters, exceeds all expectations.”

Patel believes this exuberance could change the way India supervises elections. For a country which conducts more elections than anywhere else, that is indeed a positive note.

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