Notebooks not supplied, HC asks top official to personally visit MCD schools

Expressingitsdispleasurewith notebooks, uniforms and other stationery items not being supplied to over 2 lakh MCD school students, the Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the civic body's commissionertomakeapersonal visit to these schools.

The HC took note of an affidavit by the MCD indicating that for the 2023-24 academic year, 2,73,346 students have not been distributed uniforms, notebooks and stationery items. This, as per the MCD, is because these students do not have operational bank accounts in which they can receive these benefits.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora asked the Commissioner, MCD, to visit the schools, especially those in Gandhinagar area. This was after the petitioner's counsel Ashok Agarwal submitted that three MCD schools in Gandhinagarare“tinschools”.the petitioner NGO, Social Jurist, had filed a plea claiming that students in MCD schools, and those under the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education, are “being deprived of statutory benefits like uniform, notebook, etc.”

“Tillyouvisitnothingwillhappen...they are going to the new class without uniforms. They will lose interest in studying,” the bench orally said to the commissioner. The MCD commissioner submitted that the civic body is working on a “war footing”, tying up with all the banks. The bench furtherremarkedorally:“...ifthisis how you want to manage MCD, we can't say anything more...it is not a happy situation.”

Thebenchlistedthematteron April 26.

The Indian Express reported on the matter on April 21.