Date:01/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/01/stories/2007070153580300.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Quality check on school buildings

Correspondent

Engineers to be held responsible for lapses

1289 additional classroom buildings sanctioned
Allotted funds inadequate and Rs. 1 cr. required

Kakinada: East Godavari Collector M. Subrahmanyam has warned the engineers not to compromise on quality in construction of school buildings under the Sarwa Siksha Abhiyan and made it clear that they would be personally held responsible for the lapses if any found in the construction.

Addressing the officials of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, panchayat raj, rural water supply, he said, he would be writing to the Principal JNTU College of Engineering for taking up third party checking on the quality of construction of the classrooms constructed. As against the 1,289 additional classroom buildings sanctioned under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan scheme, he said, so far construction of 521 buildings was completed and 409 buildings construction was in various stages. The Collector has asked the officials to start the construction of 350 class room buildings without further delay. On the construction of 60 mandal level resource centres, he said, the allotted funds were inadequate and Rs.1 crore required additionally completing them. The government has sanctioned only Rs.6 lakhs towards the unit cost of these buildings as against the actual amount of Rs.8 lakhs required. The Collector has asked the DPEP consultant Kondala Rao to ensure that the additional amount of Rs.1 crore is released to complete the buildings early.