Amid biting cold in Delhi, MCD school students await funds for uniform

new delhi: amid the biting cold in delhi, the students in the mcd schools are still waiting for their winter uniforms as an amount of rs 1,100 per child for the purpose is yet to be disbursed by the corporation, several principals and teachers claimed. the calls and texts to mcd mayor shelly oberoi and commissioner gyanesh bharti seeking a response over the allegations went unanswered. according to the data presented by the commissioner in the budget session, the municipal corporation of delhi (mcd) has a total of 1,536 schools across its 12 zones which includes 44 aided schools and 666 recognised schools.over seven lakh students are enrolled in the mcd schools, it said. the corporation had in october last year passed a proposal to provide rs 1,100 per child for school uniform of the students in all its schools. a total fund of rs 56.63 crore annually has to be set aside for this project as per data. the commissioner had in december last year said that the civic body has allocated the funding for the uniform for the year 2023-2024 and the amount is expected to be disbursed to the bank accounts of the students soon."a total of rs 56.63 crore has been allocated to all 12 regions at the rate of rs 1,100 per student for purchasing uniforms for the session 2023-24," said bharti while presenting the budget. "a proposal to deposit an amount of rs 120 for purchasing note book and stationery items for each student and an amount of rs 300 for purchasing school bag in their bank account is under process, which will be completed and released soon," he added.according to the mcd school officials, the students are still waiting for this amount to be credited to their accounts and they are studying without notebooks and bags while the session is about to end and they have exams in february."the students have not received the amount for school uniform as of now. they are supposed to get rs 1,100 per child for the uniform which has not been disbursed," said an mcd school official on condition of anonymity."the mcd has not released funds for purchase of bags and stationary for the students," added an official of another mcd school. as per the passed mcd proposal, the students in all civic schools will get rs 1,100 to purchase uniform which includes shoes, sweater and socks along with rs 300 for bag and rs 120 for stationary items such as notebooks, pencil and other items.