AAP alleges MCDs selling 14 school properties to pvt buyers, targets BJP

New Delhi: Flaying the Bharatiya Janata Party over how MCD schools in the Capital are run, Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday alleged that after being unable to get more students in its schools, the MCDs were purportedly selling 14 school properties to private educators and institutes, calling it a shame that this "land will go into private hands forever".

The AAP MLA continued that after being unable to increase its student intake across schools, the MCDs had merged 36 of its schools to free up the buildings. "Out of these 36 schools, BJP-ruled MCD has released tenders for 14 schools," Bharadwaj said, adding that the land will be leased for a long period, allowing the BJP to reap its benefits.

Bharadwaj said the pots for which tenders had been floated were in the Narela Zone, City Zone, Sadar Paharganj Zone, Civil Lines Zone, Karol Bagh Zone and the lease for these may extend up to 15-20 years, leaving no option for even the next MCD administration to undo this.

"MCDs' budget is six thousand eight hundred seventy-two crore rupees and the amount they give to education is 1.5 per cent of it. Delhi government gives 25 per cent of the budget to education," the AAP leader said, continuing that the MCDs, under the BJP, are unable to provide basic primary education to students, which is their responsibility.

The AAP also alleged that the quality of education in MCD schools was so poor because of the state of the infrastructure there and alleged widespread corruption. As a result, Bharadwaj said, the number of students in MCD-run schools had come down from 3 lakh to 2.3 lakh.

Moreover, Bharadwaj also took aim at the BJP for selling these plots to private buyers while at the same time maintaining that they do not have enough land to set up primary healthcare centres under the Delhi government's Mohalla Clinic initiative.

A response from the Delhi BJP was not available till the time of filing this report.