Remove high-tension wires over schools: Haryana rights panel

Taking a strong stand on children’s safety, the Haryana Human Rights Commission has issued a significant directive declaring that the presence of high-tension electricity wires over school premises is a grave violation of human rights. The commission emphasised that such conditions endangered the life, health and safe learning environment of children—violating their Fundamental Rights.

The Full Bench of the Commission, comprising Chairperson Justice Lalit Batra and members Kuldip Jain and Deep Bhatia, noted that a decision was taken in 2013 under the Chairmanship of the then Chief Minister that all high-tension power lines passing over government schools, polytechnics, civil hospitals and veterinary hospitals must be removed by June 15, 2013, and the expenses for this were to be borne by the Power Department. However, even after more than a decade, the issue remains unresolved.

The Haryana Human Rights Commission has directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Power), Managing Directors of DHBVN, UHBVN, and HVPNL, Director of Secondary Education, and Director-General of Elementary Education to submit a detailed report within two months regarding the actions taken so far and the timeline for the removal of such high-tension lines. The report is to be submitted during the next hearing on August 6, 2025 via video-conferencing.

The commission observed that it was extremely unfortunate that thousands of schoolchildren continued to risk their lives daily due to the presence of overhead high-tension wires. This situation not only violated Article 21 of the Indian Constitution but also contravened the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children.