Bela Gram | India's first net-zero Panchayat model showcased at Mumbai Climate Week

'Climate change can be felt in the water we fetch, the food we grow, and the air we breathe. It affects our health, and that is my responsibility to do what’s best for my village,' said Sharada Gaydhane, the Sarpanch of Bela Gram

Mumbai: The example of Bela Gram being India’s first net-zero panchayat was discussed at the inaugural edition of the Mumbai Climate Week, highlighting the vital role of community stewardship in shaping localised climate action.

Bela Gram is located in the Bhandara district of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

“Climate change can be felt in the water we fetch, the food we grow, and the air we breathe. It affects our health, and that is my responsibility to do what’s best for my village. For us, climate action begins at home. When the Panchayat takes responsibility and people participate, change  becomes real,” said Sharada Gaydhane, the Sarpanch of Bela Gram, under whom the transformation was undertaken.

“Every village festival, wedding, birth of a child, was marked by planting a tree and taking care of it. Over time, we planted almost 90,000 trees. We made concrete efforts to move away from chulas to LPG. We used panchayat funds for solar panels over anganwadis and panchayat offices. While waste began to be segregated at every doorstep, we took a vow to reject single-use plastics,” she added.

In 2024, the Bela Gram Panchayat won the first prize in the Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar at the National Panchayat Awards, placing the village on the national map as a model for grassroots climate leadership. Her story set the tone for the session, which went on to showcase similar examples of practical, community-led solutions from across the country.

A special ‘Panchayat’ session – ‘Panchayats Leading India’s Climate Charge’ – held at the Jio World Convention Centre during the Mumbai Climate Week 2026 brought together grassroots leaders from six states, demonstrating that some of India’s most effective climate solutions are emerging from village councils, not conference rooms.

The panel built on the Conference of Panchayats (CoP) initiative by Asar Social Impact Advisors, and Policy & Development Advisory Group (PDAG), continuing its focus on strengthening local leadership in climate action. 

Representatives from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha shared firsthand accounts of building climate resilience, from enabling solar-powered energy transitions to integrating sustainable agriculture into Panchayat planning.

Jagadananda, Co-founder & Mentor, Centre for Youth & Social Development, speaking about the power of Panchayats and frontline leaders in shaping climate action, said: “The future of climate resilience lies in climate-smart Panchayats, where land, water, livelihoods and people converge at the local level." "A climate-smart India begins at the Panchayat, closest to the risks, resources and resilience. Our collective future depends on investing in and strengthening these institutions, where people, ecosystems and democracy come together,” he added.

“We hope that this CoP will help drive a uniform nationwide local climate action platform by 2028 with the proposed global CoP33 to be held in India,” said Arindam Banerjee, Co-founder and Partner, PDAG.

Vinuta Gopal, CEO, Asar, said, “Grounded models for scalable climate action offer hope that the most lasting and credible solutions are those that begin within communities and grow outward.”