In August 2023, the Election Commission of India (ECI) compiled and re-issued consolidated guidelines for “green elections” ahead of parliamentary polls in five states. The guidelines reiterated ECI’s long-standing calls for political parties and candidates to minimize their impact on the environment during campaigns.
Laying down 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 a low carbon footprint.”
What the CEC preached then was taken up by her fellow civil servant Heera Lal Patel, a cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) UP officer who can be credited with initiating India’s first model of green elections.
“I conducted green elections for the first time in June 2024 in Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab, after the EC guidelines were set. Later that year, in November, I was the returning officer and helped conduct green elections in Maharashtra assembly constituencies, Anushakti Nagar and Chembur,” said Patel.
In 2025, he was the returning officer in the Junagadh by-election in Gujarat and adopted the same green template.
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Patel’s passion for ecology took him into areas where bureaucrats preferred not to enter. Much before his work for the environment, planting trees and removing plastic, as District Magistrate and Returning Officer, Banda, UP, got wind of the government and environmentalists. He has earned wide acclaim for demonstrating that electoral processes can be compatible with environmental protection.
“All stakeholders of the electoral ecosystem have welcomed it and are more than excited to contribute to the process,” said Patel, currently secretary, national integration, UP government.
What exactly is a green election? A relatively new concept, it is essentially an innovation that has introduced environmentally friendly practices to reduce the environmental footprint of the electoral process to ensure that the carbon footprint is kept to a minimum after the election.
A 2019 study by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) revealed that from election materials alone, Indian elections can generate around 6,000 metric tons of plastic waste.
Strive to reduce environmental damage
At its core, the Green Choice concept focuses on significantly reducing environmental damage through the use of biodegradable materials, promoting tree planting and spreading awareness of ecological practices.
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According to Patel, the term “green choices” was not easy to relate to. “To simplify the concept, I switched to ‘Green Elections’, a phrase that resonates with the public because it combines two ideas – environmental sustainability and democracy,” he said.
“To take the message to its logical conclusion, I asked voters to plant one tree for every vote they cast,” explains Patel.
Another important element of the model is digital campaigns. By prioritizing online platforms for outreach and communication, the use of paper in election campaigns is significantly reduced.
First noted for its paper-saving potential in 2004, the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) is estimated to have saved around 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 towards sustainable democratic practices. “This is an opportunity to instill a sense of environmental responsibility in citizens while redefining the way elections are conducted in India. By making sustainability a central theme, this initiative sets a precedent for integrating environmental considerations into large-scale government processes,” he points out.
According to him, “When the normal polling stations were changed in different shades of green, the energy it radiated among the voters exceeded all expectations.”
Patel believes this looseness could change the way India oversees elections. For a country that holds more elections than anywhere else, that’s a positive note indeed.
