Mumbai : Even though one semester of the academic year 2015-16 for school has passed, the BMC has not distributed school bags, tiffin boxes and water bottles to children studying in municipal schools. These three objects are part of a list of 27 items that BMC distributes to municipal corporation school children free of cost at the beginning of every academic year.
What is more shocking, however, is that the administration recently decided to scrap distribution of the items or cash for the three items this year. Speaking to Free Press Journal, Education Committee chairman Ritu Tawde said, “Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta informed that neither the three items nor the cash for it will be distributed this year. Mehta reasoned that parents must have purchased the essentials such as school bags, water bottles and tiffin boxes. So there is no point in giving out the items this late in the year yet again. They will be distributed again only next year.”
The delay in distributing these items happened due to a deadlock in the BMC regarding the decision of whether to distribute cash or the objects. Due to rising complaints of items not reaching students, or being substandard, the civic administration insisted on distributing cash this year, and chose these three items on a trial basis. Meanwhile it gave out the other 24 items.
Tawde informed that the decision about whether to give out cash or items next year will be made in a standing committee meeting sometime soon. However, BMC spokesperson informed that the civic body has already begun the process of issuing tenders for distribution of the three items for next year. Cash transfers will not be made.
