Unsafe schoolbuildings not be demolished as of now

Ravinder Saini

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Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, September 13

The process to demolish dilapidated buildings of 60 government schools in the district will take time as the Public Works Department (PWD) has sent all cases back to the local education authorities without fixing the reserve (base) price for demolition auctions, citing shortage of staff.

Sources say the education authorities have sent the cases to the Executive Engineer (XEN), Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad (HSSPP), Panchkula, to get reserve price fixed.

The district authorities have also urged the HSSPP to delegate powers to its Sub-Divisional Engineer (SDE) of declaring school buildings unsafe and fixing the reserve price for demolition auction.

More than three months ago, the PWD had declared buildings of 60 government schools in the district unsafe. Since then not a single building has been demolished. Sources say the reserve price of only five buildings has been fixed so far.

“At the district level, only the XEN, PWD, is authorised to declare school buildings unsafe and to fix their reserve price for demolition auctions. The XEN has returned 55 cases without fixing the reserve price, citing shortage of staff,” said District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO) Surender Chauhan.

He further said, “The process of declaring the buildings unsafe and fixing their reserve price for demolition can be expedited if such power is delegated to the SDE, HSSPP, at the district level, otherwise the PWD sits on the matter on several pretexts.”

An officer on the condition of anonymity said they always faced the wrath of higher authorities in case a room of an unsafe school building collapsed in the rainy season even as cases for fixation of reserve price for demolition were sent to the PWD in time.

He said rooms of five government schools in Gwalison, Dabodha, Kheri Jat, Achej Paharipur and Kheri Khummar villages had collapsed because of rain.

Virender Malik, XEN, PWD, said: “The Public Works Department is authorised to declare school buildings unsafe, but it is not duty bound to fix the reserve price for demolition auctions. Yet, we help the Education Department in this respect. The Education Department has an engineering wing to fix the reserve price.”