NALGONDA/HANAMKONDA/WARANGAL/ADILABAD : The owners of several welfare residential school buildings across the state on Tuesday locked the premises in protest against non-payment of rent by the government. However, they removed the locks and allowed the students inside after an assurance from BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and the authorities that the rent would be cleared soon.
The government reportedly cleared two-three months rent arrears for the buildings by evening and promised to pay the balance amount shortly.
Telangana State Residential School Rented Buildings Owners’ Association president M Devendar Reddy told TNIE that the government at the time of signing the agreements with them had promised to increase the rent by 20 percent every two years but it was not being implemented.
The association is also demanding payment of `10 per square feet as monthly rent for the playground, and payment of uniform rent for all the buildings in the state.
Devender Reddy said that 30 months rent is due from the government in some districts. The government is running schools in 1,100 rented buildings in the state. In Nalgonda district, eight residential schools, 22 SC hostels, 6 ST residential schools, 15 residential schools, 29 BC hostel buildings, six minorities residential schools and three colleges are being operated in private buildings.
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes (MJPTBC) Welfare Residential Schools and Junior Colleges were locked by the building owners at Ursu Gutta and Nallabelly mandal headquarters, Warangal and in erstwhile Adilabad district.
After the Dasara holidays, the students, accompanied by their parents, and the staff returned to find the schools locked in Warangal. Seeing the lock and banners at the entrance to the residential schools, the students and their parents were shocked. A few students and their parents reportedly returned home after waiting for some time.
Upon learning about the situation, the District Coordinator Officers and authorities intervened and convinced the owners to remove the locks and allow the students inside the schools.
The building owners displayed banners explaining that they were compelled to lock the schools due to the government’s failure to pay the rent for 30 months and their repeated requests falling on deaf ears.
Data obtained by TNIE reveals that there are seven residential schools operating in rented buildings in Jangaon, three in Bhupalpally, eight in Warangal and five in Hanamkonda.
Jangaon District Backward Classes Development Officer B Ravinder told TNIE that the building owners agreed to reopen the schools after assurances about the rent payment within a month.
Speaking to TNIE, Gopichand, regional coordinator, said: “In erstwhile Adilabad, only five of 30 MJPTBC Welfare Residential Schools operate in own buildings, while the rest are housed in rented premises. Rents for March, April, and May have been deposited in the principals’ accounts, and the remaining amounts are expected to be released soon.”
Case registered against building owner
Meanwhile, Thandoor mandal police filed a case under U/sec 126(2) of BNS against building owner Surabhi Sharath Kumar for reportedly locking the school and preventing students and staff from entering the premises in Mancherial district.