IIT-B leads the way to eco-friendly campus
One of Mumbai’s greenest campuses is about to get greener.
One of Mumbai’s greenest campuses is about to get greener. Students of IIT Bombay, which is in a lush 220-hectare sprawl in Powai, have initiated the Green IIT-B project aimed to make it more eco-friendly.
Green campuses was the focus of discussion on the second day of Nivritti, a three-day symposium on sustainability issues, hosted by the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute as part of their Technovanza festival.
Panelist Rutika Muchhala (22), an electrical engineering student of IIT-B, spoke of the campus sustainability programme that is being conceptualised and executed by five students and funded by the institution. “Graduate students have to be prepared for a green economy and green jobs,” she said.
Conceived last summer, the Green IIT-B project focuses on solid waste management. Students of IIT’s Industrial Design Centre have designed prototypes of dustbins for biodegradable and recyclable waste. They plan to install 400 such dustbins on the campus. Another initiative is the building of a vermiculture pit in the faculty housing section, where waste from the canteen’s mess and hostels is being converted to compost that can be used as manure for landscaping. The students are also planning to install an automated lighting system that works on sensors in the hostels’ bathrooms to reduce energy consumption.
“To create awareness on campus sustainability, we have created a website. We’re planning to publish an in-house magazine highlighting the environmental problems and solutions on campus,” said Muchhala.
The Biosynth project initiated by the chemical engineering department also uses a self-sustained biodiesel-producing plant that converts waste matter from the campus into biofuel.
Panelist Anokhi Parikh of the Climate Project India added a disclaimer.
“Making campuses green isn’t enough. Sustainable campuses have to produce sustainable citizens. For this, a green curriculum has to be embedded in all existing curriculums and not act as a mere add-on,” she added.