KL Report
Srinagar
The divisional administration on Tuesday asked all private schools running from leased lands in Kashmir Valley to specify whether they are charitable society established for a non-profitable purpose.
“All the schools should advertise as to how many poor children are being imparted education and specify all details which are stipulated for running school on leased land in light of Supreme Court judgment,” Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Shailinder Kumar told KNS.
“They are answerable to public and as such they should keep all information available. They should keep audited account of their organizations on school website so that people get to access it readily,” he said.
Sources said that there are 1100 kanals of land leased to several private schools in the Srinagar and they are paying virtually peanuts. If sources are to be believed, Presentation Convent School pays Rs 12000 per annum for 95 kanals while Burnhall School pays Rs 100 per kanal for land leased out to it. It is no different for Biscoe also as the school only pays Rs 1000 for the land allotted to it.
Besides, source said, the lease holders are mostly non-state subjects and they have been allotted land only after specifying that they are a charitable organizations.
The schools running from the leased land by virtue of the agreement with the Nazool Department are bound to abide by the stipulations under the Land Grants Act, 1960.
Official sources said that as per the section 4 of Land Grants Act 1960, every school is supposed to be a registered charitable society established for a non-profitable purpose.
The defaults on the part of School administration can lead to the termination of the Lease, they said.
The Land Grants Act specifies that the Lessee cannot undertake any construction on the leased land without the prior permission from the Lessor.
Meanwhile, the Divisional Commissioner also categorically rejected the allegations by one of the Private schools—Presentation Convent School— that it was being harassed and its construction was stopped without any reason.
Pertinently, an official statement here said that the school is running from the Nazool land under the lease hold rights which expire on September 18, 2017.
The statement said that on coming to know that a new construction was coming up without the permission of the Nazool department, school management was asked to produce relevant documents which they failed so far.
Subsequently the School authorities were asked to stop the work on July 7 through the law enforcing agency.
The school, according the statement, come up with the notice and put the children to trouble by closing down the classes on July 8.
Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Dr G N Qasba also confirmed that permission granted to the school in July 2012 was put to abeyance in December for want of other legal formalities including the NOC from Nazool.
“Carrying out construction without any valid orders is a violation and they should go by norms,” he added.
