Install Rainwater Harvesting Systems Within 60 Days Or PayRs 5 Lakh Fine: NGT To All Delhi Schools, Colleges

"Any institution which fails to install rainwater harvesting system within stipulated period will be liable to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation,"

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 16 November 2017 2:33 pm

The National Green Tribunal on Thursday directed all government and private schools and colleges in Delhi to install rainwater harvesting systems within two months.

The institutions are asked to make the installations at their own cost, reported news agency PTI. "Any institution which fails to install rainwater harvesting system within stipulated period will be liable to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation," said the order.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar ordered that any institution that fails to install the rainwater harvesting system within the stipulated period shall be liable to pay environment compensation of Rs 5 lakh.

The tribunal directed schools and colleges to approach a committee constituted by it. The committee will inspect the premises and grant permission to institutions for operating the system.

The committee, comprising senior officials from the education department of the Delhi government, Delhi Jal Board, Public Works Department, representative of Central Groundwater Authority and others, was formed and asked to deal with the applications from schools and colleges.

"The committee shall meet twice a month and deal with the application of the schools and colleges expeditiously," the bench said.

If it is not possible to install a rainwater harvesting system, the institution should approach the committee within a week from today. The committee will then inspect the premises.

"Upon inspection, if it feels that there is no possibility of setting up such system, then the panel may issue exemption certificate," the bench said.

According to the tribunal, the institution that gets an exemption certificate shall be subject to environment compensation, which will be used for setting up rainwater harvesting systems in possible nearby areas, including parks.

The green panel also directed the director of the Delhi education department and the Delhi Jal Board to issue notices to all such schools and colleges within three days from today.

The green panel had earlier this year in June sought a proposal from schools and other institutions in the NGT registry after serving a copy to Delhi Jal Board.

The green panel said the schools need to take immediate steps to set up rainwater harvesting systems to keep a check on the issue of water crisis.

The NGT had aslo asked the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to inspect private and government schools here after a plea alleged that they had failed to install systems to harvest rainwater in their premises.

The direction came during hearing of a plea of Mahesh Chandra Saxena, who claimed to be associated with an NGO working in the field of groundwater conservation.

He had claimed that government departments, educational institutions and residential societies had either not installed rainwater harvesting systems, or had set them up but they were non-functional.

With Agency Inputs