Uttarakhand HC Restrains State Govt From Buying Cars, Furniture As It Failed To Provide Bare Facilities in Schools [Read Judgment]

The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday restrained the state government from buying luxurious cars, furniture and air conditioners etc., since, it miserably failed to provide minimum bare facilities in schools, inter alia, benches, desks, blackboards, hygienic separate toilets for boys and girls, water purifiers and ceiling fans, as per the court directions.

By its judgment dated 19.11.2016, the court had issued the following mandatory directions to the state government:

1. To provide all the schools with benches, desks, blackboards (with chalk and duster), computers, well stack library and well equipped science laboratory within three months.


2. The state government is directed to construct hygienic toilets for boys and girls separately. The head of the institution shall be personally responsible to maintain hygiene of toilets.


3. The state government is directed to provide two sets of uniform to all students of government schools as well as aided-schools twice in a year.


4. The state government is directed to provide mid-day meals to all students upto secondary level.


5. The state government is also directed to ensure that all the school buildings should be well-lit and duly ventilated.


6. The state government is directed to provide sufficient number of water purifiers as per the strength of the students in all the schools for drinking water.


7. In winter closing schools, all the schools should keep adequate number of heaters and the building should be kept warm. In summer closing schools, the sufficient number of ceiling fans should be provided.


8. The state government is directed to increase the grant for duly recognised and affiliated madrasa to at least Rs. 20,000 per annum under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.


9. All the students belonging to SC & ST and BPL categories shall be paid suitable stipend.


10. All primary schools, upper primary schools and secondary schools shall ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, in letter and spirit.

A division bench of Justice Alok Singh and Justice Rajiv Sharma observed that till date, the judgment has not been implemented.

The court had summoned the Secretary (Education), State of Uttarakhand. The only explanation offered by the Secretary to the court was that the matter was taken up with the Finance Department of the state on 14.3.2017, but, till date, no response has been received from the Department of Finance.

“It reflects a very sorry state of affairs. The peremptory directions were issued by the Court on 19.11.2016, to arrest the falling standards of education in the State of Uttarakhand and to provide at least bare minimum infrastructure and wherewithal in Government run schools.”

The court held that the state must give top-most priority to the education.

“Since, the State Government miserably failed to provide minimum bare facilities in schools inter alia benches, desks, blackboards, hygienic separate toilets for boys and girls, Water Purifiers and ceiling fans, the  State Government is restrained from buying luxurious Cars, Furniture and Air Conditioners etc. till further orders of this Court,” the court said.