Vadodara: Construction threatens NAIR’s green campus tag

VADODARA: If the Indian Railways (IR) goes ahead with construction of any kind of building at the campus of the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), it will not just undermine the aesthetics of the historic Pratap Vilas Palace that it houses, but it will also lose its green campus tag.
NAIR had last year become first such campus under Western Railway (WR) and amongst few in the entire network of world’s fourth largest transporter to earn green campus tag from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
“It was on the directive of the Railway Board that the entire process for green campus certification with IGBC was undertaken.
In fact, Rs 7.5 lakh fees for the process was also waived off with the intervention of the board. The proposed construction of a multi-storey building at Raja Baug of Pratap Vilas Palace will strip NAIR of this award,” said N K Ojha, former university engineer and in-charge registrar of MS University.
“To become a certified green campus, it was turned into a zero discharge campus in terms of rainwater. The proposed construction will lead to more run-off and add load on storm water drain of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation,” he said.
Ojha, who on behalf of MSU had acted as consultant for the certification process, has shot off a letter to the union railway minister and the railway board regarding the issue.
His letter states that the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) which is implementing the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train has already cut many trees in the area allocated to them for construction of high rise buildings.
“There is thick forestation in NAIR campus which is popularly known as the jungle area where no vehicle is allowed.
NAIR itself is a centre of rich biodiversity whose ecology has already been damaged by construction activities undertaken by NHSRCL,” the letter states.