Schools for disabled lie to government!

Bengaluru:

Some schools for children with special needs  run by NGOs in Bengaluru  are pulling a fast one on the government by claiming to have facilities they don't despite being funded by it, according to the 2017 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.  

Members of CAG,  who conducted spot inspection of three such schools in the city, found  they were cramped and had poor facilities for the children. Shockingly,   the District Disability Welfare Officers (DDWOs) had given glowing reports about at least two of them to the government.

While the DDWO claimed that the Priyadarshini Residential School for Blind in Kengeri Satellite Town had  eight classrooms, a principal's office, staff room, three dormitories each for boys and girls, a dining hall, a library with 50 books, a playground, and six toilets over about 3,255 sqft , in reality the school occupied 600 sq ft and was located in a  house with just one hall, two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom with an attached toilet. Worse, while the DDWO claimed the school had 57 students,  CAG found a family of four occupying it and  no teachers.

 The  Vidyaranya Buddivikalachetana Makkala Vasathiyutha Shale in Yelahanka New Town was better , but still lacked facilies. While the DDWO's inspection report said it had 10 classrooms measuring 300 sqft each, eight dormitories, a dining hall, a library, playground, eight toilets and eight bathrooms as well as sufficient beds and bedsheets, CAG found on inspection that the school had four toilets, two bathrooms and five rooms of 100 sqft each, which served as both classrooms and dormitories. There was no sign of the dining hall, library or playground.

 At Spurthi Residential School for mentally retarded children, Virgonagar, Mandur,  it found that three rooms on the first floor served as  classrooms during the day and dormitories at night. 

The residential school did not have beds, mattresses or woollen blankets, a library and entertainment space. Although it claimed to have 88 students, CAG found only 50 students  present during inspection.

The report  also found that the  special grant for  protection and development of lakes, enhancement of ground water and beautification of  lakes in metropolitan areas was not made use of properly. Of the Rs 5.56 crore earmarked for 2015-16, the first tranche of Rs 2 crore was released to the Karnataka Lake Development Authority (KLDA) only at the fag end of the financial year. 

“The project work is yet to begin and the amount remains unutilised with the KLDA,” it said. The CAG report revealed that  projects like setting up of a Rehabilitation Cell for relocation and rehabilitation of forest dwellers in tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, establishing 30 new police stations, including 10 all — women police stations, installing CCTV surveillance in 20 district prisons,  providing solar lighting in 10 other district prisons and extending telemedicine to five central prisons, had not been completed in the time frame expected. 

Additionally, it found that the BBMP had failed to remit the cesses it had collected from people and property owners to the concerned government agencies.  

The civic authority, which collected Rs 154.20 crore towards the beggary cess between 2011-12  and  2015-16, remitted only  Rs 70.88 crore   to the Central Relief Committee of the Social Welfare Department in Bengaluru, it said.