BMC spends Rs 4.12 crore to repair Kurla's school building then demolishes it

The school has now been demolished. Pics/Datta Kumbhar

In the last seven years, the only thing that Kurla's Nehru Nagar Municipal School has taught its students is how to waste taxpayers' money. After spending Rs 4.12 crore on shoddy repairs of the school, the BMC is now demolishing the same building, which was found to be dilapidated even after the expensive renovation. There is no word on whether there will be an investigation into where all the money went.

The school was closed for repairs way back in 2011, and its 4,000 students in Hindi, Urdu and Marathi medium were moved to other schools. The School Infrastructure Cell (SIC) awarded the contract to Kinjal Construction for the repair and strengthening of the ground-plus-four-storey building. The project were completed in November 2013, at the cost of Rs 4.12 crore, but the school could not be reopened as the repairs were found to be substandard.

Mohammad Jamaluddin Khan

Fresh repairs required
In 2016, a team from BMC's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) conducted a visit and found that the building's condition was still shoddy and dilapidated. A consultant recommended that fresh repairs be done at the cost of another Rs 4.52 crore. The TAC found this unfeasible, and instead ordered that the building be pulled down. Demolition of the school began in March and is still ongoing.

The racket came to light after activist Mohammad Jamaluddin Khan got hold of the TAC report through an application made under the Right To Information (RTI) Act. Khan has now complained to the Chief Minister, BMC Commissioner, as well as the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

Khan said, "I was shocked to read the TAC report, which stated that the building needs another structural repair. The TAC, in its final observation, stated that the further expenditure of R4.56 crore is not viable, so the building should be demolished."

Anuradha Pednekar, former local corporator, said, "The school building had cracks and was also lopsided. I had already told the authorities that instead of repairing it, they should demolish it and construct a new structure. I was told that such a provision does not exist. After spending crores, now they are demolishing the structure anyway."

The other side
Uttam Shorte, deputy chief of the School Infrastructure Cell, said, "This was special case; an uncertain problem was created in the building pillar. We consulted NIIT too, and they said the building was still dangerous. On the basis of the TAC's decision, it was decided to demolish the building."

When asked why the officials did not investigate the shoddy repairs, he said, "You go and find out." Prakash Kadam, the BMC engineer at the time for the project, said, "The building was repaired, but due to a natural calamity, cracks began to develop again. This was not just in the school building, but also in nearby residential buildings."

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