INSTALL WATER HARVESTING: NGT DIRECTS SCHOOLS

With monsoon season likely to start soon, the National Green Tribunal has directed private and government schools in Delhi to install rainwater harvesting systems in their premises within 10 days. A bench headed by Justice Jawad Rahim said the schools need to take appropriate steps for setting up of rainwater harvesting systems as the monsoon season is likely to start soon. “We direct notices (schools) to complete installation work within a period of 10 days and file report of completion in the registry after serving copy to the applicant, failing to which each one of the notices will be saddled with a cost of `20,000 in the first instance subject to further order for increasing the cost,” the bench said. The tribunal also directed Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to inspect the premises of the schools, which have already installed rainwater harvesting systems and submit report. The matter is listed for next hearing on June 14. The NGT had earlier directed the CGWA and Delhi Jal Board to inspect private and government schools after a plea alleged that they have failed to install rainwater-harvesting systems 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 ground water conservation. He has claimed that government departments, educational institutions and residential societies have either not installed rain water harvesting systems or these were non-functional.