Corporators question BMC on tablets for civic schools

With the civic elections just six months away, opposition parties in the civic body are leaving no opportunity unturned to criticise the ruling party – Shiv Sena.

With the civic elections just six months away, opposition parties in the civic body are leaving no opportunity unturned to criticise the ruling party – Shiv Sena. This time, it is the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena along with other opposition parties that raised an issue on the Sena’s pet project — tablet distribution among civic school students.

The civic administration was also criticised by the ruling Sena, for bringing in a proposal to provide charging points in various civic schools for tabs, a year after its distribution. (HT Photo)

In the standing committee meeting on Wednesday, MNS, backed by other opposition corporators has demanded that the civic administration should bring out a white paper on the use of tabs by civic school students in the last year.

The civic administration was also criticised by the ruling Sena, for bringing in a proposal to provide charging points in various civic schools for tabs, a year after its distribution. A proposal to purchase about 7,224 spike guards for civic schools, along with its installation and maintenance, worth about Rs 92 lakh, where students can charge their tabs, was tabled for discussion in the standing committee meeting on Wednesday.

During this discussion, corporators fumed over the dysfunctional tabs that had to be sent for repair within a year of its distribution and in some places, tabs were not even taken to use. Corporators also said that it should be discussed if distribution of tabs had actually helped in reducing the weight of school bags – which was its main purpose.

Waqarunnisa Ansari, Congress corporator and a standing committee member, said, “In one of the municipal schools – Immamwada Secondary school — about 42 tabs lie unused for the past six months. There is absolutely no system to check on the use of the tabs.”

Trushna Vishwasrao, leader of the House and Sena corporator, said, “This proposal of making provisions for charging points should have been brought in much earlier. However, there are no major problems related to tabs, which are working.”

Additional municipal commissioner, Sanjay Deshmukh, who was present in the meeting, said, “The complaints of the corporators have been noted.”