HC to State Govt: No Cars or ACs for you till all Govt Schools are provided with basic amenities

June 23, 2017

HC Bench remarked that it is a sorry state of affairs.

HC riled over non-implementation of its order which seeks to provide basic facilities in govt. schools of Uttarakhand, the high court on Thursday restrained the state govt. from purchasing any luxurious item such as cars, furniture & air-conditioners for itself till any further order.

The High Court also pulled up secretary (education) & asked why salaries of all the bureaucrats shouldn't be stopped till the time the order is properly implemented.

Describing this situation as a "sorry state of affairs," the court asked "Don't all the officers sit on cushioned chairs? So why not students?"

Uttarakhand High Court had directed the hill state's govt. in November 2016 to provide "at least bare min. infrastructure" with basic facilities in all the govt-run schools.

The court ordered the finance secretary to appear before it on Friday & explain why allocation of the funds in the matter was delayed. This order came on a PIL filed in 2014 by Deepak Rana, who is a Dehradun resident, who alleged lack of basic facilities in a govt. school.

The division bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma & Justice Alok Singh said in the order, "Since the state govt. miserably failed to provide min. bare facilities in the schools like benches, blackboards, desks, hygienic separate toilets for girls & boys, water purifiers & ceiling fans, the state govt. is restrained from buying luxurious cars, furniture & ACs etc. till any further orders of this court."

The secretary (education) in his submission to the court said that a budget of ₹903 crore was sent to the state finance dept. on March 14, 2017, "but no reply has been received by the education dept. so far".

To this the court remarked that it's the duty of the state to ensure education to each & every child by providing basic facilities vital to it.

"The state must give top most priority to education," the bench said.

Terming the state bureaucracy to be "insensitive", the court remarked, "Comply with the judgment or stop the salary of all the gazetted officers of Uttarakhand."

On 19th November 2016, the High Court had ordered the state to provide all govt. schools with essential articles which include benches, desks, blackboards (with proper supply of chalks & dusters), Computers, a well-stacked library & a well-equipped science laboratory within a period of 3 months.

The High Court expressing its angst on the state of education in the state remarked, "It's a pity that even after more than sixty eight years of independence, we're making children sit on mats."