DELAY IN construction of schools by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) is leading to students being deprived of “proper infrastructure for effective teaching and learning process”, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) said in a letter to the CPWD recently. KVS, the autonomous body under the Education Ministry that runs the central schools, flagged the delays in completion of nine projects as well as 89 projects that were pending at pre-tender stage and 21 projects that were pending with the CPWD at the stage of preparation of detailed project report. In a letter to CPWD Director General Shailendra Sharma on January 20, KVS Commissioner Nidhi Pandey wrote, “Work in some KVs is slow leading to time and cost overrun, resulting dispute/litigations/arbitrations etc.” She added that during a meeting with CPWD officials on June 15, last year, it was decided to ensure “timely completion of school buildings along with quality construction work”. “The delay in completion is depriving the students of proper infrastructure for effective teaching and learning process,” the KVS commissioner wrote. The letter included the list of projects that had been delayed, including the nine buildings that were under construction. The project at Bandipur, Jammu and Kashmir, was the one delayed for the longest time — three years and seven months.
