ISO certifies five SECR stations for environment management
Nagpur: Five railway stations of Nagpur division’s South East Central Railway (SECR), namely Itwari, Gondia, Bhandara Road, Kamptee and Rajnandgaon, received ISO certification this week for best environment management.
SECR authorities had organized a one-day workshop of CSIR-National environmental engineering research institute (Neeri) for its top officials to develop an eco-friendly approach towards maintenance and operations.
Several mandates for eco-friendly maintenance and operation of the railways were formulated during the workshop, in which several environment experts presented their views before senior SECR officials.
The efforts of SECR to develop an environment-friendly approach followed a policy decision adopted by the railways board. The board is learnt to have embraced the policy following the ruling of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had issued a 24-point guideline to the railways. While adjudicating on the Saloni Singh versus Union of India case, NGT had instructed railways to adopt a strategy which ensures that stations are developed and upgraded in a phased manner to become eligible for ISO certification.
The efforts of SECR to develop an environment-friendly approach followed a policy decision adopted by the railways board. The board is learnt to have embraced the policy following the ruling of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had issued a 24-point guideline to the railways. While adjudicating on the Saloni Singh versus Union of India case, NGT had instructed railways to adopt a strategy which ensures that stations are developed and upgraded in a phased manner to become eligible for ISO certification.
The ISO team inspected the station premises, enquiry booth, ticketing facilities, waiting room, VIP and reserved lounges, refreshment outlets, availability of potable drinking water, food vendors, and sanitation for bona fide passengers entering or leaving the premises.
According to a senior SECR source, ISO 14001-2015 criteria helped organizations to improve their performance on the environmental gradings through more efficient use of resources and waste reduction. “The issues relevant to the operations, like curbing of air pollution, water management, soil contamination, climate change mitigation measures and adaptations were assessed for certification,” he said. “More than 10 key stations were inspected by the special team, but only five got the certificate,” said the official.
The official sources also stated that the current certificate would expire in 2020, following which it could be renewed by the SECR authorities.
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