1 Wall, 4 Litres Of Paint, 233 People: Madhya Pradesh School's Math Miracle

NDTV

05-07-2025

In Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district, a miracle of mathematics and manpower has been achieved: 168 labourers and 65 masons were employed to apply four litres of paint to a government school wall in Sakandi village.
Social media had a field day as bills from the Byohari Assembly went viral, revealing that Rs 1.07 lakh was allegedly withdrawn to apply just four litres of oil paint in a school in Sakandi, and Rs 2.3 lakh for 20 litres at another in Nipaniya village.
While 168 labourers and 65 masons were used for the wall in Sakandi, 275 labourers and 150 masons were employed in Nipaniya to paint 10 windows and four doors.
And yet, the true artistic genius lies not on the school walls, but in the paperwork. The construction firm, Sudhakar Construction, which carried out the work, managed to create a bill on May 5, 2025, which had already been verified a month earlier - on April 4 - by the principal of the Nipaniya school.
Even more magically, the bills, legally required to be accompanied by before-and-after photographs, were approved without a single photo.
District Education Officer Phool Singh Marpachi said, "Bills of these two schools are viral on social media. They are being investigated, action will be taken based on the facts that emerge."