Delhi government asks schools to seek police help on noise, parking woes

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has directed all private and government schools to write to police to address the issues of unauthorised parking and unnecessary honking around educational institutions as part of efforts to curb noise pollution.

In an order issued on Thursday, the Delhi Directorate of Education (DoE) instructed schools to prepare an 'Action Taken Report' (ATR) on measures implemented to control noise pollution and submit it by March 3.

The directive from the DoE was followed by a letter from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) regarding the enforcement of the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2002, in schools by writing to the SHOs and preparing an ATR. RN Jindal, Chairperson of Sovereign School in Rohini, highlighted the challenges faced due to unauthorised parking near school premises.

"Our school is located in a residential area, and overnight parking leads to major difficulties in cleaning the surroundings in the morning," he said. He said that the congestion makes it challenging to ensure smooth movement near the school gates. "We will write to the SHOs regarding the issue and hope their intervention helps in resolving it," Jindal said.

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'Unauthorised vehicles cause congesting outside schools'

Shudha Acharya, Principal of ITL International School in Dwarka, shared similar concerns and emphasised the need for external support to regulate parking around schools. "Our school security guards try their best to manage the parking situation within the premises. However, outside the school, unauthorised vehicles are often parked, creating congestion," she said.

It becomes difficult to locate the owners and request them to move their vehicles, Acharya said. "As per the instructions, we will be reaching out to SHOs, seeking their assistance in addressing the parking problems and curbing unnecessary honking near the school," she said.

The CPCB has also requested the education department to collaborate with urban local bodies to create awareness about noise pollution in schools. Additionally, the department has been asked to support the Department of Environment in organising webinars in the school.