A committee on environment of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has asked authorities of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Mawphlang to close down the school.
The committee announced its decision after finding that the sewage treatment plant in the school was not functional.
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The committee reported that the entire sewage of the school are being discharged into a stream that flows down to the reservoir of the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme at Mawphlang dam that supplies drinking water to residents of Shillong city and its suburb.
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The Assembly committee on environment, headed by Independent MLA from Mawphlang constituency, S. K. Sun, held a meeting on Wednesday and discussed various issues that affect the environment with officials of different government departments and agencies.
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Officials of the forest department, health, water resources, state pollution control board and other appeared before the committee.
After the meeting, Sun told reporters that officials of the JNV Mawphlang also appeared before the committee.
Sun said members of the committee during inspection in the school on Tuesday found untreated sewage released out from JNV.
“We called the JNV authority and the committee has taken a stand that we cannot close down the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme but can close down the school,” Sun said.
The JNV Mawphlang has around 400 students.
“Until and unless the sewage treatment plant is made functional, they will have to continue giving holiday to students. But they have assured to do it at the earliest possible,” Sun said.
Sun also asked the forest and PHE departments to declare Mawphlang reservoir as a ‘national wetland’.