PHAGWARA: The Punjab State Human Right Commission (PSHRC) has directed the Director School Education (secondary) Punjab to submit the final report on the delay in construction of the new building of the Government Senior Secondary School (co-education) Nurmahal which remains on stand still due to non-release of funds by the state government.
Justice Sant Kumar Chairperson of PSHRC said in his order that the report should be presented before it before one week of the next date of hearing fixed for May 16.
The PSHRC is hearing a complaint on non completion of Nurmahal school building filed by a social activist and former president of Nakodar Nagar Council Aditya Bhatara.
Superintendent works and planning of the Director School Education (secondary) Punjab in its interim report submitted in the PSHRC on March 17 , 2025 said that on receipt of estimates from the public works department budget will be requested for resuming the work of school building.
The construction of the new building of the Government Senior Secondary School (co-education) remains to stand still following the non-release of funds by the government.
The then Nakodar MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala on December 14, 2016, had laid the foundation for the construction of the new building.
New buildings became necessary as school faced a shortage of classrooms after the demolition of a condemned building in 2012. Non-Residents Indians (NRI’s) and the state government jointly made efforts to start the construction of the new building for which Nagar council had donated 14 kanals and 17 marlas land to the education department. NRI Raj Nayyar had donated Rs 10 lakh for the construction of the school building.
The director general of school education (DGSE) had released Rs1.14 crore for the construction of the building in October 2013, following directions from the Punjab State Human Rights Commission.
The school principal received Rs 57 lakhs in 2013 which was deposited in the accounts of the public works department as it is the agency to construct government buildings above Rs 50 lakhs.
The public works department had completed fifty percent of the construction work and the finance department had not released the remaining grant as a result work came to stand still.
Nakodar MLA I.K. Mann had said that the construction would be resumed soon as the remaining grant is being released by the government after her intervention but still no grant has been released and no work has started.