Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 30 April: The Dehradun district administration has launched a fast-tracked drive to demolish dilapidated and structurally unsound school buildings across the district to ensure the safety of students. According to a report submitted to the District Magistrate by the Chief Development Officer (CDO), the administration has successfully demolished 56 out of the 64 identified hazardous school buildings. Meanwhile demolition work on the remaining structures is also progressing rapidly.
The action follows strict directives from the District Magistrate (DM) Savin Bansal, who has maintained a zero-tolerance policy regarding the safety of students, a stance reinforced by the clear instructions of the Chief Minister to ensure that the lives of children are not put at risk. In this coordinated effort, the administration has already demolished 4 secondary and 52 primary school buildings. Furthermore, the drive has addressed the issue of unusable classrooms, resulting in the demolition of 7 secondary school classrooms and 14 primary school classrooms. The remaining 8 unsafe buildings and 3 unusable classrooms are scheduled for demolition within the next month, as per the compliance report submitted by the Chief Education Officer to the DM. The scale of this operation marks the first time such a large number of dilapidated school structures have been demolished simultaneously, a feat achieved through the DM’s strict oversight and accountability measures imposed on education officers and school principals.
Regarding the geographical distribution, school buildings were initially identified in various blocks including 23 in Chakrata, 17 in Kalsi, 8 in Vikasnagar, 2 in Sahaspur, 14 in Raipur, and 17 in Doiwala. Out of the total identified inventory, 70 school buildings and individual classrooms have been cleared to date. For the 11 remaining buildings that are fully or partially dilapidated but could not be demolished immediately due to various administrative reasons, a proposal seeking an additional month for completion has been forwarded to the government. Bansal has reiterated that student safety remains the top priority and that the removal of these unsafe structures is essential to fostering a secure learning environment. To ensure that the academic activities of students are not disrupted during this process, the administration has directed the Chief Education Officer (CEO) to maintain robust alternative arrangements for teaching.
