Jalandhar Central MLA Raman Arora holds surprise check at makeshift book sale centre
Jalandhar, April 8
Taking up the issue of exorbitantly priced syllabus books available only at a designated site for a particular school, Jalandhar Central Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raman Arora on Friday conducted a surprise check at a godown of a vacant hotel building on Adda Tanda Road here.
Accompanied by AAP leader and ex-MC councillor Amit Dhall, Arora said he had checked the place on receiving various complaints from the parents. The parents told the MLA that during parent-teacher meet, they were given the contact number of this makeshift shop from where they could purchase books and notebooks. They said since they were getting very expensive sets from this centre, they tried making two-three rounds to Mai Hiran Gate (city’s wholesale books market) to get the same books at competitive prices, but to no avail.
The parents told the MLA that the books prescribed by the school were available only at this centre, which was charging heavily from them. The MLA checked the receipts that the parents had got and suspected evasion of tax.
He called in the staff from the GST office to make the requisite checks and lodge a case in case there was a violation. He also found the books of Punjab School Education Board stored in the same building and called in the District Education Officer to find out why these books were there and if the violations were being committed by the school and the makeshift shop.
Arora said while the state government has been repeatedly asking the school authorities to give more relief to the parents at the time of the start of the new session and to do away with the alleged monopoly in book sales, the schools were seemingly not bothered.
He said he was appalled to see that the schools had even got printed special copies for the school with logo mentioned on its cover and directions issued to the students and parents to get only these copies. He said that on the parents’ request, he had visited the site and called in the officials, who would check for all violations and take action as per law.
