Haryana Districts Schools Closed: Schools in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar Closed Due to Rising Air Pollution

Haryana Schools Closed: As per the recent updates, the Haryana Government ordered the closure of all schools in the 4 NCR districts of Haryana - Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar till further orders. The decision to close schools in Haryana is in response to the Supreme Court direction to take action on air pollution. The Supreme Court, on Thursday, gave a 24-hour ultimatum to centre, Delhi and other neighbouring states to take action to control pollution in the National Capital Region.

Statement of Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB)

S Narayanan, member secretary of Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) said, “We are planning to close schools in the four districts, and have written to the Chief Secretary on this. We are awaiting a final approval, as the Chief Secretary has agreed to it in-principle. The schools will remain closed till further orders.” Till the filing of this copy, the order was not being issued.

The instruction was conveyed via an order issued by the additional chief secretary of Haryana’s Environment and Climate Change Department. Schools had earlier been shut in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar from 14th to 17th November owing to air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region. On 17th November, CAQM had further extended the closure.

Complete Ban on Construction Activities

The government also put a complete ban on all construction activities, excepting ones that do not pollute the environment like plumbing work, interior decoration, electrical work, carpentry, and activities exclusively permitted by the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas. The order stated that the rules would be strictly implemented in all 14 NCR districts of Haryana till further orders.

Schools Reopened After 25th November

On 25th November, the deputy commissioner of Gurugram, Dr Yash Garg, released an order allowing all schools and other educational institutions to open from Friday (26th November) with strict Covid-19 protocols in place, but only a few schools reopened on Friday. In Gurugram, many private schools resumed offline classes on Monday, though the overall attendance was very low.

The government has also advised private offices as well to adopt a work-from-home approach, however, the final decision has been left on the offices themselves. Everyone is advised to stay indoors and adopt safety measures till a further order is received.

Also Read: COVID-19 Update: 53 Students Test Positive at Saikrupa Residential College at Kunjakanta