The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has asked schools to get rid of broken furniture, unusable equipment, defunct vehicles and all waste materials as part of a green drive in schools across India. As part of the Swachhata Pakhwada, India's latest fortnightly cleanliness drive (September 1-15), the MHRD has asked schools across the country to organise a Green School Drive on September 6, 2019. 

But is it feasible?

The move to remove "all kinds of waste material like broken furniture, unusable equipment, defunct vehicles etc" might not be all that easy after all. "We cannot just throw away furniture, equipment and even defunct items. There is a due process to account for everything that comes in and goes out of government premises," said an official. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise to clean India might just hasten the process. A study released by the NITI Ayog earlier this year suggested that out of the 15 lakh schools in India 4 lakh have less than 50 students are in deplorable conditions.

The directive asked the schools to create awareness of Eco Clubs in schools to sensitise the students about the environment. Every school must arrange for dustbins with Blue and Green-colour tags which must be used for Recycled and Unrecyclable waste respectively to make children "aware about the classification of wastes".

Afforestation is also on their mind. The directive asked schools to encourage students to plant trees in and around school premises and encourage them to engage in gardening. Reusing waste material, initiatives to curb the greenhouse effect are some other objectives of the green drive. The number of schools participated has to be uploaded on Google drive along with photos, videos and publicity material.

Under the Swachhata Pakhwada 2019 initiative in schools, the Central Government will also conduct cleanliness activities and spread awareness among children about the negative effects of plastic usage throughout the 15 days.