Vijayawada Railway station bags ISO-14001 certification

Amaravati: Vijayawada station, one of the busiest railway junctions in the country, has secured the prestigious Environmental Standard ISO 14001:2015 certification on Monday, making it an eco-smart station for efficient implementation of environment management system. Vijayawada is one of the three stations selected under South Central Railway, in addition to Secunderabad and Kacheguda, for development into eco-smart stations in tune with the National Green Tribunal directive. In all 36 railway stations across the country have been chosen, as per the NGT directive, for development into eco-smart stations. A press release from SCR said these stations had to achieve compliance on 10 major parameters like cleanliness, solid waste disposal, water management, energy management, afforestation and plantation, for securing the ISO-14001 certification from Bureau of Indian Standards. Audits were conducted in two stages at Vijayawada station in November and no "non-conformities" were found in respect of the ten parameters, the release said.

The ISO certificate would be valid till December 1, 2022, for implementing environmental management system using best and unique standards. "By obtaining the ISO certification, we established that we are conscious of the environmental obligations and are looking to reduce the adverse impact. The certification gives reassurance that we have taken steps to minimise the organization's impact on the environment. This is critical as passengers are increasingly becoming savvy about green issues," SCR Vijayawada division manager P Srinivas said in the release. Complimenting the officers and the staff on this achievement, Srinivas promised to ensure that the environmental management system remained part of their day-to-day operations. (PTI)