Dreamt of providing seat to each student in school, says MP

PATIALA:The first timer Member of Parliament (MP) from the city, Dharamvira Gandhi, who believes education system of the country needs a complete overhauling, has spent his 50 per cent of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund on government schools.

Students sitting on benches at the Government Elementary School in Dharamgarh, Patiala. File photo

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 7

The first timer Member of Parliament (MP) from the city, Dharamvira Gandhi, who believes education system of the country needs a complete overhauling, has spent his 50 per cent of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund on government schools.

In fact, the MP has spent Rs 12.84 crore out of the Rs 25 crore he received in his five year tenure mainly on three things: clean drinking water, proper sanitation and good seating arrangements in schools.

“When I was elected as MP from Patiala, I had dreamt that I would make sure that no student in government school sits on floor,” said Gandhi.

So far, the MP has spent Rs 4 crore on providing wooden benches to government schools and Rs 5.56 crore on construction of new separate toilets for girls and boys.

Out of the total money spent on government schools, Rs 2,14,73, 924 was spent on installation of RO water systems in 590 government schools and Rs 1.1 crore on libraries in 60 schools.

Indeed, the MP has already spent his entire MPLAD fund six months before his tenure ends.

“My primary focus was to improve the basic facilities in schools, including clean drinking water, proper sanitation and good sitting arrangements,” he added.

In fact, MPLAD fund is a Central sector scheme fully funded by the Government of India under which funds are released in the form of grants-in-aid directly to the district authorities.

The amount released under the scheme is non-lapsable, which means entitlement of funds not released in a particular year is carried forward to the subsequent years, subject to eligibility.

At present, the annual entitlement per MP for his/her constituency is Rs 5 crore.

“Education is one sector, which needs a lot of attention in the country. I want no school to be left out in the district where students are devoid of basic facilities,” said Gandhi.

Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Shaukat Ahmed, chief statistics officer Parminder Kaur and school teachers played a crucial role in the utilisation of funds, he added.