330 rooms in 90 Ambala govt schools declared condemned

Ambala, February 18

Over 330 classrooms of 90 government schools in the district have been declared condemned. After demolishing the condemned structures, new classrooms will be constructed.

A majority of these schools belong to the Naraingarh block, where classrooms of 32 schools were declared condemned, followed by 20 in Ambala-I block, 15 in Saha block, 9 in Ambala-II, 8 in Barara and 6 schools in Shahzadpur block. An official in the Education Department said, “There are 768 schools in the district. A list of around 400 classrooms in 120 schools was prepared, of which the PWD (B&R) declared 334 classrooms in 90 schools condemned and fixed a reserve price for the auction sale. A list of another 11 schools with over 30 unsafe classrooms is likely to be received in a week, and for 19 schools, the PWD (B&R) has recommended repair work.”

“During rains in 2017, a portion of verandah of a primary school in Nanhera had collapsed, and in 2021, roof of an abandoned classroom and verandah of a senior secondary school in Shahpur village had slumped. Since the structures are unsafe for children, they must be demolished at the earliest to avoid any untoward incident”, added the official.

Another official said, “The declaration of unsafe structures as condemned and fixing reserve price for their auction is an extensive process, which takes several months.”

Many such structures were found in primary schools. Junior Engineers and SDOs of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and PWD officials were tasked to expedite the survey and the fixing of the reserve price.

Construction work of new classrooms to start soon

We have received the reserve price for the auction of 334 classrooms in 90 schools while a list of another 10 schools is likely to be received within a week. Soon, the school management committees will get the auction process completed. We are hopeful that the construction work of the new classrooms will start soon. — Sudhir Kalra, district education officer