By Staff Correspondent
In a significant move towards India’s vision of achieving net zero emissions by 2070, the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Military Engineer Services (MES) Jhansi to convert Army stations into carbon-neutral campuses. The MoU, signed in accordance with Earth Day 2023, aims to establish a demonstrable model through a real-world example of achieving carbon neutrality.
Under the MoU, five Army campuses under the MES Jhansi cantonment have been identified initially, which will be converted into NetZero Carbon, Net Zero Energy, Net Zero Water, and Net Zero Waste campuses/stations in a phased manner. The campuses will be assessed based on energy sources, energy consumption, carbon footprint, adoption of sustainable alternatives, planting of trees within the campus, habitual attributes, and more. IIT Kanpur will conduct a yearly audit on carbon neutrality parameters for the cantonments.
The MoU was signed between Colonel Akhil Singh Charak, Commander Works Engineer (CWE) and IITK alumnus, Major Sunny Attri, Garrison Engineer from MES Jhansi, and Professor A.R. Harish, Dean of Research and Development (R&D), IIT Kanpur. The signing took place in IITK in the presence of Prof. Ashish Garg, Prof. Rajeev Jindal, and Prof. Aakash C. Rai, from the Sustainable Energy Engineering Department.
“The signing of this MoU is a significant step towards India’s commitment to becoming a Carbon Neutral nation,” said Prof. A.R. Harish, Dean of R&D, IIT Kanpur. “The collaboration between IIT Kanpur and MES Jhansi will help in creating a sustainable future for India.”
The vision is to leverage the vast land mass covered by Army cantonments and convert them into carbon-neutral ones while adding value to India’s larger goal. The MoU also includes training Army personnel and creating their resource pool through on-job training for sustainable practices.
“The transformation of Army cantonments on the basis of the crucial parameters of NetZero is an attempt to contribute significantly towards India’s carbon neutrality goal. We’ll oversee the entire on-ground processes of the Army campuses selected under the MoU, and would do a yearly audit. We’re glad to be associated with MES Jhansi, who proactively cooperated for the initiative. Our larger objective is to create success stories of net neutrality within India, one step at a time,” says Prof. Rajeev Jindal from the Sustainable Energy Engineering Department, IITK.
This initiative will not only help in reducing carbon emissions but also in conserving natural resources. The training of Army personnel will also help in creating awareness about sustainable practices and their implementation.
The Indian Army and IIT Kanpur plan to create a carbon-neutral path for India to achieve sustainability. IIT Kanpur has a sprawling campus spread over 1055 acres with a large pool of academic and research resources spanning across 19 departments, 22 centres, and 3 Interdisciplinary programs in engineering, science, design, humanities, and management disciplines with 540 full-time faculty members and approximately 9000 students. In addition to formal undergraduate and postgraduate courses, the institute has been active in research and development in areas of value to both industry and government.
