Beed: Social activists staged a protest outside the Beed Collector's office on Monday, alleging that the district administration has spent crores of rupees on renovating the official residences and offices of senior government officials while rural schools continue to lack basic infrastructure.
The protesters submitted a memorandum through the district collector to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister and Beed Guardian Minister Sunetra Pawar, Public Works Minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale and Minister of State Indranil Naik.
In the memorandum, the activists sought a comprehensive audit of repair and renovation works carried out over the past 20 years at the official residences and offices of senior district officials, including the district collector, superintendent of police, chief executive officer of the Zilla Parishad, civil surgeon and executive engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD).
They alleged that work orders worth ₹93 lakh had been issued over the past one-and-a-half years for repairs and renovation of the official residence of the Beed Superintendent of Police. The activists demanded an inquiry into the PWD officials who prepared the estimates and approved the expenditure and sought action if any irregularities are found.
According to the memorandum, the renovation work included landscaping the garden, exterior painting, furnishing the guest room and master bedroom, repairing the guard room and staff toilets, renovating the official chamber, replacing pipelines, repairing the kitchen drainage system, waterproofing, beautifying interiors and installing paver blocks.
The activists also highlighted the poor condition of schools in rural parts of the district. They claimed that 58 schools are functioning without proper buildings, while 313 classrooms in 174 schools are in a dilapidated condition. They said another 98 classrooms are needed in 70 schools because of rising student enrolment, requiring an estimated ₹57 crore. Repairs to 290 classrooms would require around ₹12.5 crore, but the funds have allegedly not been released.
The memorandum stated that activists had to repeatedly agitate before the administration sanctioned ₹28 crore for school infrastructure. They alleged that despite this, large amounts of public money continue to be spent on renovating the residences and offices of senior officials.
The protest was led by Dr Ganesh Dhavale. Among those present were Shaikh Younus, Ramnath Khod, Shaikh Mubeen, Shaikh Mustaque, Ashok Yede, Syed Sadeque, D.G. Tandale, Bajirao Dhakane, Dr Sanjay Tandale and Shivaji Mandve.
