NEW DELHI: With the BJP targeting him for alleged financial “bungling” to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of schools, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said the estimated costs of each classroom to be built by the BJP-ruled MCDs comes to nearly Rs 25 lakh each.
Sisodia claimed that the BJP-ruled South MCD recently came up with a proposal to construct 43 rooms in a school at a cost of Rs 10.73 crore, which, he said, meant Rs 24.95 lakh were earmarked as expenditure for each classroom. The BJP has claimed that the AAP government has spent close to a whopping Rs 25 lakh in construction of each classroom.
At an inspection of a government school in Mandawali, Sisodia explained that Rs 2,892 crore spent included the cost of constructing of state-of-the-art classrooms, computer labs, laboratories, staircases, music rooms, libraries, corridors, playgrounds, swimming pools, toilets, water and electricity supply systems, wastewater treatment systems among others.
“The BJP doesn’t want that the kids of poor people, who have migrated to the national capital from states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in search of livelihood, get quality education... due to the fear that these students will start questioning them on the state of education in these states,” he said.
“We will spend Rs 25 lakh per room if that fulfils our objective of providing quality education to poor students. I am committed to it... even if somebody wants to send me to jail, I am not going to step back,” he asserted.
On Monday, Tiwari cited an RTI reply to claim that the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government had constructed 12,782 classrooms at a cost of Rs 2,892 crore and this could have been done by spending just Rs 800 crore.
He had also demanded the resignation of Sisodia, who is also the education minister. On Monday, the deputy chief minister had challenged the BJP to arrest him if he is found guilty in any financial irregularity. Later, Sisodia had tweeted a series of pictures showcasing the interiors of government schools, which, he claimed, “frightens” the saffron party. Later, Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said Sisodia was indulging in a blame game to hide the ‘corruption’ that happened under him.
“The MCD data which says per sq feet is only Rs 2,784 compared to Rs 8,800 of the Delhi government. Hence, the scam of Kejriwal and Sisodia stands exposed now. Also in MCD proposal, two toilet blocks and staircase is included in the construction cost. The AAP government should remove Sisodia to initiate a free and fair enquiry,” he asserted.