Udhampur: In a significant step towards institutionalizing cleanliness, waste segregation and environmental accountability across the educational institutions of Jammu division, Commissioner Secretary, School Education, Ram Niwas Sharma, Friday formally launched the divisional implementation and enforcement drive of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 from Government Higher Secondary School Majalta, Udhampur district.
The initiative assumes importance in the backdrop of the nationwide Swachh Survekshan framework and the directions issued by the Supreme Court of India regarding strict adherence to scientific waste management protocols and visible cleanliness standards in public institutions, including schools.
The Commissioner Secretary was accompanied by Dr. Naseem Javaid Choudhary, Director School Education Jammu; Dr. Jagdish Chander Mehra, Joint Director Udhampur-Reasi Range and Subash Gupta, Chief Education Officer Udhampur.
During the visit, emphasis was laid upon implementation of a comprehensive cleanliness and waste-management framework in schools, including visible cleanliness in campuses, segregation of wet and dry waste, installation of separate waste bins, menstrual waste management, composting of biodegradable waste and maintenance of sanitation facilities in accordance with the Swachh Survekshan 2025–26 parameters communicated by the Housing and Urban Development Department and subsequently adopted by the School Education Department.
Addressing the students and staff, Ram Niwas Sharma observed that schools must emerge as the first laboratories of civic discipline and environmental ethics. He stated that cleanliness cannot remain a ceremonial slogan but must evolve into a lived behavioural culture nurtured from classrooms outward into society. He urged the students to become active stakeholders in the movement for environmental protection, scientific waste disposal and the “NashaMukt Bharat Abhiyan.”
Interacting with the students in a highly engaging session, the Commissioner Secretary also shared his personal academic and professional journey and responded to queries related to career planning, environmental responsibility, waste management and social awareness initiatives. He advised the students to pursue their goals with discipline, consistency and moral clarity, remarking that nations advance when education produces not merely degree-holders but responsible citizens.
Director School Education Jammu, while speaking on the occasion, underscored the urgent necessity of creating drug-free, environmentally conscious and socially responsible educational spaces. He emphasized that schools must act as centres of behavioural transformation where students learn the values of cleanliness, sustainability, healthy living and collective responsibility alongside academics.
