35 primary schools to be upgraded to model status
District Collector Sumit Kumar directed officials to expedite the construction works and ensure their completion within 100 days.
The Collector stated that the State government has approved the upgradation of these 35 primary schools across various mandals of the constituency. Specifically, construction in Kuppam mandal will cover 10 schools under the supervision of Samagra Shiksha APC, eight schools in Santhipuram mandal and seven in Gudipalli mandal will be overseen by the AP Education and Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation (APEWIDC), while 10 schools in Ramakuppam mandal will be monitored by the Panchayat Raj SE.
Each model school is planned to have five classrooms and five teachers. The government has sanctioned Rs 10.36 crore for the construction works, with strict instructions to start immediately and complete within the stipulated timeframe.
Sumit Kumar instructed that measures be taken by Kadapa PWD and Samagra Shiksha APC to procure essential infrastructure including RO plants, doors, desks and other school-related materials for all 35 schools.
The Collector made it clear that the works must meet quality standards across all 11 components involved, and there should be no compromise in this regard.
He directed that progress reports, including details of sanctioned works, construction progress, and expenditure, be regularly submitted by the Samagra Shiksha APC. Mandal Education Officers (MEOs) of the respective mandals have been asked to frequently inspect the construction works and facilitate their speedy completion.
Tenders should be called for procuring the necessary construction material.
For every 25 per cent of construction work completed, measurement books (M-books) should be prepared and sent to the Samagra Shiksha APC to facilitate timely fund disbursement. Efforts will be made to ensure that payments are released promptly for every certified bill uploaded, the Collector added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Kerala cabinet pays tribute to VS, makes note of key interventions
VS was also recognised for his interventions in key areas such as environmental protection, gender equality, and human rights. His contributions in both legislative and administrative roles were remembered, including his tenure as a legislator representing Ambalapuzha, Mararikulam, and Malampuzha, and his term as chief minister from 2006 to 2011. He later served as the Chairman of the Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission from 2016 to 2021. The cabinet remarked that his death marks a significant loss to Kerala's progressive and democratic movements. Other decisions The cabinet approved the creation of a deputy collector post for Disaster Management in the districts of Wayanad and Idukki-two of the most disaster-prone regions in the state. The posts will be established by abolishing one office attendant and one typist post in the respective district revenue department. The cabinet also approved the transfer of 28 acres of land in Melthonnakkal and Andurkonam panchayats for the second phase of Digital University Kerala campus. The land, originally part of the 507 acres notified for Technopark Phase IV (Technocity), will be handed over on a freehold basis. Digital University Kerala will be responsible for all future land acquisition and resettlement (LAR) liabilities. An allocation of Rs 21.81 crore has been sanctioned to Technopark to facilitate the transfer.
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
5 yrs, 33 foreign trips: Modi's global outreach cost exchequer Rs 362 cr between 2021 & 2025
The three remaining foreign trips in 2025 include his visit to France and the US in February, a tour of Thailand and Sri Lanka in April, and another trip to Saudi Arabia at the end of April. The combined cost of these three trips was Rs 67 crore. The Prime Minister made 33 trips abroad from 2021 to 2025, and the Rs 362 crore account for foreign visits up to his tour of five nations earlier this month, the data furnished by MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh shows. The bills for three of Modi's foreign visits in 2025—to Canada, where he attended the G7 summit; to Brazil, where he participated in the BRICS summit; and to Mauritius—are not fully settled, so not not included in the calculations. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits from 2021 to 2025 cost the exchequer Rs 362 crore, which does not include expenses of his current trip to the UK and the Maldives or unsettled bills, the Minister of State for External Affairs of India informed the Rajya Sabha Thursday. Among these trips, his February tour to France and the United States incurred the highest costs this year. Starting 10 February and lasting till 12 February, his visit to France cost the exchequer Rs 25.59 crore. In the period, Modi co-chaired an Artificial Intelligence Action Summit. On 13 February, he visited the US, and the one-day trip cost Rs 16.54 crore. In France, this year, Modi had at least nine engagements, including the inauguration of the new Indian consulate in Marseille and a scheduled visit to Mazargues War Cemetery. He also had bilateral engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron. In the US, Modi had bilateral engagements with President Donald Trump, followed by dinner. He also held several meetings with American personalities, including Elon Musk, as well as officials. Modi travelled to the US in 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025, visits that have cumulatively cost Rs 74.41 crore. Among his 2025 trips, the visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka cost slightly over Rs 9 crore. On the other hand, his trip to Saudi Arabia alone cost the exchequer Rs 15.54 crore. Modi, however, had to cut short the trip to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah due to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack. He returned to India before completing the planned two-day visit. His 11 foreign trips in 2024 cost the exchequer Rs 109.5 crore and included visits to 17 countries. At Rs 15.3 crore, a three-day US tour, starting from 21 September 2024, was the most expensive that year. The PM also took his first foreign trip in his third term in 2024, visiting Italy for the G7 summit. It cost Rs 14.36 crore. Overall, 2024 was the second-most expensive year—in terms of the combined cost of his foreign trips—after 2025. In 2023, the Prime Minister travelled to 11 countries across six trips, costing the exchequer Rs 93.6 crore. In that year, Modi toured Japan, the United States, and France, spending Rs 17.1 crore, Rs 22.8 crore, and Rs 13.74 crore, respectively. In 2021 and 2022, the PM travelled to 14 countries across 10 trips. The two years combined saw the Centre pay out over Rs 90 crore. On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister visited Bangladesh, the US, Italy and the UK across three trips in 2021. In 2022, the PM made seven international visits, covering 10 nations, such as Germany, Denmark, France, Nepal, the UAE, and Indonesia. Over the years, international summits, including the 2021 G20 Summit hosted by Italy, the 2022 G20 Summit in Indonesia, and the 2024 G20 Summit in Brazil, have necessitated many such foreign trips. The PM, during these travels, usually visits another country or two, whenever possible. Other summits the Prime Minister regularly attends include the East Asian Summit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Southeast Asia. In 2022, the former Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar—instead of the Prime Minister—represented India at these summits, then held in Cambodia. In 2023 and 2024, the PM travelled to Indonesia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), respectively, for annual summits. In 2022, Modi visited Uzbekistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet of heads of State. He did not attend its 2024 edition. India hosted the SCO in virtual format in 2023. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: India to resume visas for Chinese nationals as thaw continues ahead of likely Modi-Xi meet
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Lower judiciary treated like ‘shudras', ‘les misérables', High Court judges like ‘savarnas': Madhya Pradesh HC quashes termination of district judge
In a scathing comment on judicial power structures, a Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has likened the relationship between the High Court and the District Judiciary to a caste system, observing that judges in the lower judiciary are treated like 'shudras' and 'les misérables', while High Court judges function with the entitlement of 'savarnas'. The French term, 'les misérables', translates to 'the miserable ones' in English and is commonly used to refer to the poor and marginalised, as in Victor Hugo's French novel of the same name. A Division Bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Dinesh Kumar Paliwal made the observations on July 14 while quashing the termination of former Additional District and Sessions Judge Jagat Mohan Chaturvedi. He was dismissed in 2014 after passing divergent bail orders in cases linked to the Vyapam scam. The court said the judicial officer had suffered 'gross injustice' and ordered the restoration of his pensionary benefits. It also imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on the state for the 'hardships he and his family were subjected to' and 'the humiliation in society that he had to face, only on account of passing judicial orders, without an iota of material coming on record to even establish corruption even on the anvil of preponderance of probability'. Speaking on the entrenched hierarchy in the judiciary, the Bench observed, 'The relationship between District Judiciary and the High Court in the state is not based on mutual respect for each other, but one where a sense of fear and inferiority is consciously instilled by one on the subconscious of the other. At a subliminal level, the penumbra of the caste system manifests in the judicial structure in this state where those in the High Court are the savarnas and the shudras are the les misérables of the District Judiciary.' Describing the dynamic between the High Court and the lower courts, the judges said, 'The dismal relationship between the Judges of the High Court and the Judges of the District Judiciary is one between a feudal lord and serf.' 'The body language of the Judges of the District Judiciary when they greet a Judge of the High Court stops short of grovelling before the High Court Judge, making the Judges of the District Judiciary the only identifiable species of invertebrate mammals,' they said. The Bench further added, 'Instances of the judges of the District Judiciary personally attending to Judges of the High Court (as desired by them) on railway platforms and waiting on them with refreshments, are commonplace, thus perpetuating a colonial decadence with a sense of entitlement.' Judges of the district judiciary deputed to work at the High Court registry 'are almost never offered a seat by the Judges of the High Court, and on a rare occasion when they are, they are hesitant to sit down before the High Court Judge,' the Bench said. The court also observed that the 'subjugation and enslavement of the psyche of the Judges of the District Judiciary is complete and irreversible, so it seems'. 'An overbearing High Court, ever willing to excoriate the District Judiciary for the most innocuous of its errors, ensures that District Judiciary is kept under perpetual and morbid fear of punishment,' it said. 'The fear of the District Judiciary is understandable. They have families, children who go to school, parents undergoing treatment, a home to be built, savings to be accumulated and when the High Court terminates his service abruptly…he and his entire family are out on the streets with no pension and the stigma of facing a society that suspects his integrity,' the court said. The court observed that a 'District Judiciary which is compelled to work perpetually under this fear cannot dispense justice and instead shall dispense with justice'. It added, 'All this adds up to the passive subjugation of the District Judiciary, leaving it psychologically emaciated, which ultimately reflects in their judicial work where bails are not granted in even the most deserving cases, convictions are recorded in the absence of evidence… All this in the name of saving their job, for which the Petitioner in this case suffered, for thinking and doing differently.'
