UoP ropes in NSS students to conduct green audit of 350 adopted villages

The initiative by Rahuri College (Ahmednagar) to conduct green audit of campus and plant saplings to earn A grade from National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has inspired University of Pune (UoP) to follow the former’s example.

The varsity will conduct similar audit covering more than 350 adopted villages through the same number of colleges under the National Service Scheme (NSS).

The students of 353 colleges associated with NSS take part in a seven-day camp to villages every year under its social awareness programme.

“Every college has adopted a village for three years. Through the NSS programme, students camp in the village and spread awareness about health, education, right to education and women empowerment etc. besides rendering their services to villagers,” said UoP Board of Student’s Welfare director Pandit Shelke.

He said that NAAC this year has added the criterion of ‘environment protection and green initiative by campuses’ in their guidelines for colleges who wish to apply for better grades.
Rahuri College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Rahuri, Ahmednagar district was awarded ‘A’ grade by NAAC on October 27 for fulfilled the new criterion.

“We have asked all colleges to conduct green audit of their campuses as well as adopted villages through NSS camps,” he said.

The task
Shelke said that students will carry out tree and plant survey in villages and submit the data to the botanical department of their respective colleges. Necessary feedback will be given to villages to improve oxygen level after studying the data.

According to Shelke, Rahuri college principal Sambhaji Pathare and botanical department professor Ashok Abhang also conducted a green audit of the campus and replaced some plants to increase oxygen level. The visiting NAAC team was apparently impressed by the initiative.

“Our students from NSS, who would be attending the seven-day camp in the villages adopted by their respective colleges, would be conducting an audit of trees and plants, area under forest cover, cultivated and non-cultivated areas etc. before collating the data,” he said.

After studying the data, feedback will given suggesting which kind of trees and plants should be planted to increase oxygen level.
“Trees like neem, peepal and babul and plants like money plants and tulsi give out maximum oxygen and absorb pollutants from environment,” said Shelke.

Students would be planting saplings in villages and convince inhabitants to take extra care of these plants before leaving the village.