Rs 250 Crore Down The Drain? Kejriwal’s ‘Model Schools’ Short From Being A Model For Others 

As infrastructural problems surface, Aam Aadmi Party’s move to turn 54 Delhi-based government schools into model schools appears to have gone down the drain, reports Financial Express.

Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi Government in 2015 had handed over a project to the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC) for the renovation and beautification of these schools.

The issue surfaced as Indian Express reported appearance of cracks on the walls of recently completed projects, which was taken up in a meeting chaired by the Directorate of Education (DoE) and the heads of all 54 schools were asked to submit the details of the deficiency work.

According to the minutes of the meeting, as stated in the report, “The 13 District Deputy Director Education (DDEs) has informed that there are numerous deficiencies in civil/electrical/plumbing/renovation work done by DTTDC in 54 pilot schools. In fact, big cracks have started appearing in some recently completed schools.”

“They took such a long time to build the schools. After they handed over the building to us, water started seeping in and cracks developed within months. The matter should be inquired by the government,” a school principal said discussing the issue.

Rs 250 crore was allocated by the government for the ‘model schools’ project. 54 schools were selected to be developed into model schools on the basis of their proposals made to the government. While the PWD was given work to modify the school infrastructure, the DTTDC was the in-charge of the renovation of the schools.