NEW DELHI: The education department under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has projected a huge estimate of Rs 320 crore for renovating and constructing school buildings run by the civic body. Sources said that a plan to demolish and construct 60 school buildings across 12 zones of the MCD has been proposed by the department, along with the renovation of the dilapidated school buildings, which are turning dangerous to use, and the repairing of those structures, which require minor fixtures.
A senior civic authority official said that the schools are overcrowded since the number of children in MCD schools is increasing continuously. In such a situation, the need for new schools was being felt for a long time. Official figures estimate that around 9 lakh children are currently enrolled in 1,535 primary schools run by the civic authority.
“There is no room to sit or to keep a desk. Despite this, admissions are being done continuously in schools. The situation is such that in many places, the children of two sections have to sit in one classroom,” he revealed.
“However, to tackle this, a plan is in motion to build five new schools in each zone. To implement this, the authority has asked zonal officers to mark dilapidated school buildings and also wards where no school has been built. Each zone will have five such schools (including new and renovated ones). Collectively, we plan to build 60 such schools across 12 zones,” the official added.
“We have also identified the lands where the schools will be built which include property of DDA, Delhi government and the Gram Sabha. NOC will be taken from the concerned agency for making school buildings on government land,” the official said further.
However, the sources said that the civic body is finding it difficult to arrange the hefty sum running into hundreds of crores to realise this plan. Due to the paucity of funds, the renovation and development of school buildings have been stalled for many years.
“The civic body has liabilities of Rs 21,784.7 crore, of which constitute loans, current pay, arrears, payment of contracts, pension etc, while its annual budget is around 16,023 crore. It puts many crucial projects of ours in a jiffy and considering the huge investment in the renovation and construction requirements, the funding is the problem here,” another official said.
MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi did not comment on the matter when reached by this newspaper. Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal said that he is not aware of the matter. “I will ask the education director and then will be able to speak on the matter,” he said.