Gautam Budh Nagar: 28 decaying schools face demolition as infra push
The new district magistrate, Medha Roopam, last week instructed departments including Panchayati Raj, Public Works Department (PWD), and local development authorities to fast-track the assessment and razing of school buildings found to be structurally unsafe.
Officials said 28 schools have been identified in the district to be in dilapidated condition. Of these, assessment of 16 buildings has been completed and reports submitted. The remaining 12 are expected to be evaluated by Tuesday.
'The demolition of school buildings that have gone through three rounds of auction (of reusable materials) must now be executed without delay as per the government order,' the DM said in the directive issued to local authorities and development bodies including Noida authority, Greater Noida authority, and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida).
The administration is also pushing to accelerate work under the 2018 'Operation' Kayakalp', an ongoing drive to upgrade government primary schools across Uttar Pradesh, by ensuring 19 core infrastructure facilities such as boundary walls, toilets, drinking water, electricity, and furniture, officials said.
'Departments have been directed to work in close coordination to ensure that structural upgrades are completed on priority, and unsafe buildings are dealt with decisively,' the DM said, adding that there will be zero tolerance for laxity in meeting infrastructure targets under 'Kayakalp'.
Also, district officials have been instructed to complete inspection and handover procedures for school buildings left vacant after the state's 'Vidyalaya Yugman' (school pairing) initiative.
The initiative relates to merging or pairing nearby government schools, especially those with low student enrolment to improve resource utilisation, teacher availability, and overall quality of education.
To be sure, the district has approximately 500 government primary and upper primary schools.
All Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs) have been asked to submit detailed reports on whether these unused buildings are in usable or dilapidated condition. The aim is to enable swift repurposing or demolition where necessary, officials said.
'We are coordinating closely with PWD and local authorities to fast-track structural assessments and repairs. Our goal is to ensure no child studies in unsafe conditions,' said district basic education officer Rahul Pawar.
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