One small step at a time

Vimlendu Jha has an inkling that he might be fighting a losing battle against mighty governments and corporate giants to save the environment, but this does not diminish his indomitable spirit.

Vimlendu Jha, 37

Environmental Activist

Vimlendu Jha has an inkling that he might be fighting a losing battle against mighty governments and corporate giants to save the environment, but this does not diminish his indomitable spirit. He has been fighting to save the Yamuna for nearly two decades now but does not see the river that once used to be lifeline of Delhi, getting clean in his lifetime.

The reason that keeps Jha ticking and pushing against the forces that in the garb of development are harming the environment is the fact that someone has to do it.

Life took an unconventional turn for the Bhagalpur-born master’s degree holder from Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai. He took a year off to work on Save Yamuna campaign and got hooked on to it.


In 2000, he founded Swechha and steered it towards becoming one of the most influential organisations working on youth matters.

Today the organisation is working in three sectors—environment, education and green the map. Talking about the inspiration behind his perseverance, Jha says, “Most of these battles are lost. But it is important for some people to raise their voices. It is very gratifying at a personal and selfish level. I am a big fan of small change, small difference that individuals can make.”


As one of the prominent youth leaders of the country, Jha has been associated with various international organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme and World Wide Fund for Nature, to name a few. Now his organisation has branched out to waste upcycling, working with disadvantaged children, adolescent girls and boys, and helping people in increasing their employability.


“The battle that we are fighting is against some powerful constituencies and institutions. Government and big corporations are the biggest violators of environment regulations.

So the last 17 years have been about mobilising and convincing young people that they need to think about these things also. I have not tangibly achieved anything. The fact that everyone is talking about the Yamuna and several groups have come forward to talk about it is a small change we have effected,” says Jha.


“In my lifetime I don’t see the Yamuna being a better river that does not mean I don’t work on it. I don’t see Swachch Bharat in my lifetime but that does not mean I stop working on it,” he rues.
by Ritu Sharma

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