HC to Uttarakhand Govt: Fix State of Schools or Declare Financial Emergency
HC to Uttarakhand Govt: Fix State of Schools or Declare Financial Emergency
In a major embarrassment for the BJP-led Uttarakhand government, the High Court has said financial emergency could be imposed in the state if the administration cannot provide even the basic amenities to children in schools on the ground of monetary crisis.

Dehradun: In a major embarrassment for the BJP-led Uttarakhand government, the High Court has said financial emergency could be imposed in the state if the administration cannot provide even the basic amenities to children in schools on the ground of monetary crisis.

"We, in a very subtle manner, remind the State Government of Article 360 of the Constitution of India. We will not elaborate further, since this may have serious political ramifications," said a bench of Justices Alok Singh and Rajiv Sharma in its order on June 30.

Under Article 360, the President can declare financial emergency in a state if a situation has arisen whereby the financial stability or the credit of India or any part thereof is threatened. The HC bench felt constrained to underline Article 360 in the wake of repeated statements of the state government that shortage of funds was chief reason why state-run schools lacked basic facilities such as desks, benches, blackboard, potable water and toilets.

Observing that it would be politically fatal for the current government if the court were to say more about Article 360, the bench said: "It is expected from the State functionaries to reduce their unproductive expenses on luxurious items and to divert the necessary funds for improving the education system at the grass-root level."

The High Court gave the Trivendra Singh Rawat-government six months to make sure all state-run schools have bare minimum facilities that would include benches, desks, blackboards, potable drinking water and separate hygienic toilets for boys and girls.

The judges ordered that if the order is not complied with, all the gazetted officers in Education Department, including Principal Secretary, Secretary, Deputy Secretary and all the Directors "shall not be paid their salaries for the month of January, 2018."

The HC maintained "the State cannot be permitted to shirk from its Constitutional responsibilities to provide the basic infrastructural facilities in the schools" and that "the dearth of funds cannot be permitted to come in the way of implementation" of its November 2016 judgment on equipping government schools with basic amenities.

About its order passed a week ago prohibiting authorities from buying luxury cars and furniture, the bench, on an assurance from the Advocate General of the state, agreed to lift the restraint.

The HC said that the authorities could purchase luxury cars but only after an approval by the Chief Secretary of the state, who shall record the necessity for buying the luxury cars in the State of Uttarakhand on case to case basis.

The state government has been further directed to submit status report on implementation of its directions after three months.

"The Court shows its serious concern over the declining standards of education, more particularly, in Government run schools," said the bench as it pointed out that bureaucrats and even the government teachers sent their children to private schools for better education.

"This is an unfortunate trend and it can be arrested by providing necessary infrastructure, wherewithal and basis amenities in the Government run schools at the earliest," added the HC.

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