Rajasthan govt. announces ₹10 lakh each to kin of children killed in Jhalawar school building collapse

The Hindu

7 days ago

Amid demands for the resignation of State Education Minister Madan Dilawar, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Rajasthan on Saturday announced an ex-gratia assistance of ₹10 lakh each to the next of kin of seven children killed in the school building collapse in Jhalawar district. One member of each family will also get a contractual job with the State government.
The bodies of six children were cremated together in Piplodi village, where a portion of the government school in which they were studying collapsed on Friday morning, amid the cries of grieving families. The seventh child was cremated in Chandpura Bheelan village, situated nearby.
The police stopped Congress MLA from Khanpur, Suresh Gurjar, and student leader from Jaipur, Nirmal Choudhary, on the Kota-Jhalawar road when they were going to meet the injured students admitted to the hospital. Another political leader, Naresh Meena, was detained when he staged a dharna outside the District Hospital in Jhalawar.
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma announced the formation of a permanent committee to review the safety of government schools, colleges, hostels and Anganwadi centres and undertake the repairing of dilapidated buildings. He also announced an increase from 15% to 20% in the permissible allocation for these buildings in the Dang, Magra and Mewat regions.
Mr. Sharma said at a high-level meeting here that a provision of Rs.375 crore was made in this year's budget for repairing of schools and construction of new school buildings, besides the release of Rs.3 crore to each Assembly constituency for the purpose. 'The MLAs will also be entitled to recommend an expenditure of 20% of their annual allocation under the local area development fund in schools,' Mr. Sharma said.
Civil rights groups in the State have termed Friday's mishap in Piplodi village an instance of 'gross administrative negligence' and demanded an immediate resignation of Education Minister Mr. Dilawar, holding him responsible for the deaths. The death of seven children and serious injuries to several others reflected the State government's utter failure, said the activists.
People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)-Rajasthan president Bhanwar Meghwanshi said there was a widespread danger to children studying in the dilapidated buildings amid the deterioration of school infrastructure. 'On the other hand, Mr. Dialwar's sole focus has been on communalising educational institutions,' Mr. Meghwanshi said.
According to the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2023–24 data, 78 out of 94 students in the Government Upper Primary School in Piplodi belonged to tribal communities, as it is situated in the predominantly tribal area. 'This makes it clear that the government is not serious about the safety and education of children from tribal and backward regions,' Mr. Meghwanshi said.
The PUCL urged the State government to learn from the Piplodi accident and immediately conduct a comprehensive safety audit of all school buildings. Mr. Meghwanshi said the dilapidated schools must be vacated, and children shifted to safe and secure learning environments without delay.
The Opposition Congress also criticised the BJP government over the children's death, with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi demanding a probe and strict punishment for the culprits. While pointing out that most of the victims were from the Bahujan community, Mr. Gandhi asked if their lives held no value for the BJP.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X: 'A government that cannot even repair the roofs of schools for children, who are our country's future, despite complaints, shows big dreams of 'Viksit Bharat'.' The BJP, which boasts a lot about development, had ruined the country, Mr. Kharge said. (EOM)