Date:06/02/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/06/stories/2008020660170400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Schools face funds crunch for construction of buildings

V. Venkatasubramanian

Several of them do not have patta in their names

Crying for attention: A damaged school building in Kancheepuram

KANCHEEPURAM: Several government schools in the district are not in a position to source funds for construction of buildings for want of land documents. For allocation of funds under the Rural Infrastructure Development Scheme, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is insisting that the schools must produce land documents. But, several government schools in rural areas in the district do not have pattas in their name since they existed on poromboke land, enquiries reveal.

A request from the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) and the administration of Government Higher Secondary School, Aarpakkam, for allocation of funds was turned down by the bank recently. The school has patta in its name for only 23 cents, though the total area of the institution as per the available records is more than one acre. It is not the Aarpakkam school alone that is facing such a problem, says a social worker of Padappai.

Though several schools in rural areas face a similar problem, they managed to source funds for building works from the local area development funds of MPs and MLAs as rules were not strict at that time, he recalls.

When contacted Chief Education Officer, Kancheepuram District, V. Ramana, said a few schools managed to obtain patta in their names after the issue was brought to the notice of the department.