CBSE orders schools to be more water efficient

NEW DELHI: Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has ordered schools to adopt a water management policy and conduct water audits at a regular interval. After NITI Aayog alerted that 21 cities in India, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, would run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting 100 million people, the NGT bench passed the directions. The water conservation guidelines will see schools replacing old infrastructure with newer, more water-efficient models which will include the installation of automatic taps with sensors and double flush tanks and ensure regular check-ups for leakages and their prompt repair.

A senior CBSE official said that it is no more a choice for the schools to become water-efficient. And, hence it is mandatory for all the affiliated schools to achieve the goal of becoming water-efficient scholl in the coming three years, he added. “While schools use a tremendous amount of water every day and require water for drinking purposes, restrooms, canteens, laboratories, playing fields, lawns, and gardens, it must be understood that conserving water helps reduce a school’s carbon footprint,” an official said.

The CBSE has also asked schools to establish “school water management committees” that may include administrators, teachers, students, non-teaching staff and parents.

Under the policy for water management, various suggestions were put forth like installing rainwater harvesting structures, planting native and drought-tolerant plants and replacing old fixtures.