Rs 1.07 lakh bill: In Madhya Pradesh, 168 labourers, 65 masons deployed to apply 4 litres of paint at school; probe ordered

BHOPAL: After bills showing 168 labourers and 65 masons were deployed for applying just 4 litres of paint at a school, and 275 workers and 150 masons for 20 litres at another school in Shahdol district went viral on social media, the state’s school education minister ordered a probe into the matter.

Minister of School Education Rao Uday Pratap Singh directed the principal secretary of school education and the commissioner of public instructions to initiate an investigation.

Meanwhile, the district collector of Shahdol also ordered a separate inquiry and appointed SDM Beohari, Narendra Singh Dhurvey, to conduct it. The controversial bills were from government schools in Sakandi and Nipaniya villages under Beohari tehsil of the district. According to the documents, Rs 1.07 lakh was allegedly withdrawn to apply just 4 litres of oil paint at the school in Sakandi, while Rs 2.3 lakh was shown as spent for 20 litres of paint at the school in Nipaniya. “A probe has been ordered, and notices have been issued to the district education officer as well as the principals of the schools. We have also received the probe report for the Sakandi village school. Replies to the notices are expected by evening. Even if the construction and repair work is still ongoing, payment for materials can be withdrawn—but payment for labourers can only be made once the work is complete,” Shahdol district collector Kedar Singh told TOI.