Games effect: Gensets bought for Rs 2.62 crore still lying idle

It spent a whopping Rs 2.26 crore on diesel generator sets for 82 government schools in Delhi but never installed them,. HT reports

Updated on: Aug 6, 2010, 23:50:50 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

It spent a whopping Rs 2.26 crore on diesel generator sets (gensets) for 82 government schools in Delhi but never installed them.

The Delhi government 'forgot' these gensets bought in 2008 because the Public Works Department (PWD), responsible for maintenance of government schools buildings, many of which are in a shambles, was busy with the Commonwealth Games.

Bought as part of fire fighting systems in schools, these gensets have now lost its warranty without being used even for a single day.

What is even worse is that these gensets are lying unattended in different schools, as PWD engineers don't have time to install them, a Delhi government official told the Central Information Commission (CIC) at a hearing on Thursday.

There is no information available with the PWD on whether these gensets are in working condition.

The issue had reached the CIC as the public authority Directorate of Education failed to provide correct replies to RTI applicant Tarsem Kumar Chaudhary of Masjid Moth, south Delhi.

The hearing also revealed a huge discrepancy in the cost of each genset. Chaudhary said while the PWD claimed that each genset cost Rs 3.20 lakh, the principal of Masjid Moth government school said it was Rs 16.02 lakh.

"The applicant feels there many be some error in the information given by the school," Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said in his order.

The lackadaisical attitude of the PWD would not been revealed had not Chaudhary got curious about non usage of gensets.

His RTI application to the school and the PWD revealed that how government departments have forgotten their other duties in the name of the Commonwealth Games.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.