Indraj meets Sood, calls for removal of garbage yards near schools in Delhi

Delhi Social Welfare Minister and In-charge of North-West district, Ravinder Indraj Singh, met Education Minister Ashish Sood, who is also the Minister for Urban Development, to discuss measures to ensure students’ safety and support their physical and mental well-being.

During the meeting, Indraj submitted letters urging that garbage houses and dumping yards located near schools be removed, and that all footpaths within a one-kilometre radius of schools be repaired and cleared of encroachments by the concerned departments and local authorities.

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The Minister noted that several school premises have waste collection points or small dumping yards nearby, which lead to unhygienic surroundings and pose health risks to students.

Ensuring clean air and surroundings around schools is crucial to improve students’ physical and mental health, while also fostering a sense of environmental responsibility among them, the minister said.

Such steps, he added, will set a positive example for society and contribute to the overall development of neighbourhoods.

Indraj urged that necessary directions be issued to all concerned departments and local authorities to ensure that no dumping yard or garbage collection centre is located near any school.

Addressing another key issue, the Social Welfare Minister highlighted that many footpaths around schools are broken, uneven, or encroached upon, posing serious safety hazards for students, especially during school opening and closing hours.

He requested that safe and accessible routes around schools be ensured by issuing instructions to the relevant departments and civic bodies to conduct immediate surveys and ensure repair, maintenance, and removal of obstructions or encroachments within a one-kilometre radius of all schools.

Sood assured that the concerned departments and local bodies will be directed to take prompt and appropriate action on these important matters.