NEWS

The admission process at  Delhi University has been eco-friendly this time around. By not giving out forms this year, the university has saved a large amount of paper while some colleges also cut down on the number of prospectus they printed. Contributing to the environment may not have been deliberate, but the university is riding high on this initiative, which has been a sort of eye-opener.

"We used at least 2 lakh sheets of paper to print forms till last year. All that paper has been saved this time. Also, no post-registration documentation was required. Through the admission process we have contributed to the environment in a small way," said Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, deputy dean, students' welfare. The university sold each form with an information bulletin at Rs 50. According to DU officials, the cost incurred for printing each form with the information bulletin was almost at par with the sale price and the university did not earn profit through the sale of these forms even as there was no official confirmation of the budget.

Colleges also ended up doing their bit. Kirori Mal College did not print any prospectus this year though the number of prospectus sold last time was more than 15,000, principal Bhim Sen Singh said. "We didn't print it because we thought it was unnecessary this time. Who would have bought them when there were no forms for registration?" he said.

Vinay Kumar Srivastava, principal, Hindu College, said, "Last year we had printed 5,000 copies of the prospectus. As we knew we wouldn't be selling many of them this time, we got only 2,000 copies printed. The admission process has saved a lot of paper as well as hassle. There were hardly any visitors to the campus before the admissions began thus saving on petrol too."

According to environmentalists, DU should now contribute to the environment in a more planned way. Ravi Aggarwal, director, Toxics Link, said, "The university should ensure a cut in the use of paper in a more structured way. They should make more things online. Though saving paper in any way is a good attempt, DU should definitely do more."