The Centre has approved establishment of an Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in Kalimpong at a cost of Rs 16 crore but Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista has alleged that the state government is depriving students by not taking concrete steps to establish the institution.
The EMRS are set up to teach Scheduled Tribe students from Classes VI to XII.
The Kalimpong district administration, however, said a detailed project report is being vetted, the allotted land for the same has been fenced and an approach road is complete.
Bista had asked for the details of the proposed EMRS in Kalimpong and the status of the project in Parliament.
Renuka Singh Saruta, Union minister of state for tribal affairs, in a written reply to Bista, said the ministry has approved the EMRS for Kalimpong to be set up at a cost of Rs 16 crore. “..an amount of Rs 8.00 Crore has been released to the State Government as the first installment of the fund for construction of the school in the year 2020-21,” the reply states.
Saruta added: “…so far the State Government of West Bengal has not furnished the utilization certificates and progress report in respect of the first installment of funds released for the purpose.”
Unless the certificates are issued, the second installment of funding is not released.
The onus of land and construction for EMRS lies with the state government, monitored by National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) under the tribal ministry. Saruta stated: “As informed by the NESTS, the state government has not signed the MoU with NESTS which defines the roles and responsibilities of the State and NESTS.”
Lashing out at the “TMC government”, Bista said he was appalled that it was “depriving our region of a top-class school and discriminating against children from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region”. However, when asked, Kalimpong DM R. Vimala said work was on and the DPR for EMRS was being vetted at the department level.
“The land allotted is fenced and an approach road has been completed.”
Vimala also stated that there was a proposal to start EMRS from a rented premise for now.
At the moment there are 367 EMRS across the country with a student strength of 85,000. The total number of schools sanctioned by the government is 632.
