Cancelled, plots on school land persist

Bijendra Ahlawat

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, November 23

Several kanals of land which is part of the Government Primary School in Sadpura village, encroached upon for carving out residential plots for the poor, is yet to be returned to the school despite the authorities recommending cancellation of the project.

The school, set up 67 years ago, is in a dilapidated condition due to the reported negligence on the part of officials concerned.

Eight of the 38 kanals of school land was used for carving out 22 residential plots of 100 square yards each on July 19, 2012. Registration was done on August 3 that year for transfer to BPL families.

“Since carving out plots on school land was illegal and gross violation of norms, the matter was taken up with the civil and legal administration for cancellation and return of land to the school,” said Mange Ram Sharma, a complainant.

He said while officials concerned had made him withdraw his complaint in August 2015, the cancellation of plot registration had been hanging fire as the matter was yet to be decided by the office of the Additional Land Collector.

Alleging that action in this regard was being deliberately delayed due to some political pressure, he said the school had no boundary wall and the premises had been left at the mercy of anti-social elements.

Pratyush Sharma, a lawyer who had moved a complaint at the CM Window in 2015, was told that the office of the ADC recommended action against officials concerned in a letter to the office of Principal Secretary, Panchayats and Development, on October 27 this year.

Shiv Kumar, sarpanch of the village, admitted that the matter was pending with the district authorities at present. An amount of Rs 8 lakh had been sanctioned for building reconstruction, he said.

Giriraj, a panchayat member, said the school, set up in 1950, had neither been upgraded nor improved in terms of infrastructure, pushing residents towards education in private schools for their children.