Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis orders district campaigns to repair schools and healthcare institutions

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday directed all districts to launch separate timebound campaigns to repair and upgrade infrastructure at schools residential schools Ashram schools Anganwadi centres primary health centres and subcentres ITIs and technical education institutions across the stateThe directive was issued during a meeting focused on the maintenance and repair of buildings and facilities used by educational healthcare and other public institutions The government said the exercise would involve districtlevel coordination between multiple departments and would be carried out according to short and longterm action plansDistricts asked to prepare plans for up to four yearsFadnavis said funding should not be a constraint when it comes to providing essential facilities at educational institutions and primary healthcare centresGiving top priority to the improvement of foundational institutions in the education and health sectors and using available resources effectively will bring positive transformation to every districtHe directed each district to prepare action plans covering six months one year and three to four years allowing immediate repair requirements to be separated from larger infrastructure projectsEach district should prepare shortterm and longterm action plans spanning periods of six months one year and three to four yearsThe plans are expected to cover repairs maintenance infrastructure gaps and requirements for improving basic facilities at the institutions covered by the campaign The government has not specified a single statewide deadline for completing all works with implementation to be organised at the district levelCollectors to lead districtlevel implementationFadnavis said officials from the education health women and child development tribal development social welfare and technical education departments should be brought into the campaignFor this campaign the District Collector will act as Director while the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad and the Chief Officer or Commissioner of the respective urban local body will serve as CoDirectors he addedHe also called for regionallevel officers to be given the powers required to take decisions and said responsibility for implementation should be clearly assignedRegionallevel officers should be delegated necessary powers and their accountability must be fixedSenior officers he said should regularly monitor the progress of the work and identify shortcomings The intention is to bring different departments involved in maintaining public institutions under a common districtlevel framework rather than dealing with individual infrastructure requirements separatelyMultiple funding sources to be pooledThe Chief Minister said districts should combine funds available through different government programmes and other sources to finance institutional improvementsFunds from the District Planning Committee various schemes CSR funds public contributions the Hill Area Development Programme and other available financial sources should be pooled together and utilised for institutional improvementThe proposal envisages using existing financial resources more efficiently rather than relying on a single department or funding stream for repairs and upgradesFadnavis also suggested considering modular infrastructure options for primary health centres which could provide an alternative where conventional construction or expansion may take longerHe directed the Finance Department and the concerned secretaries to issue detailed Government Resolutions covering decentralised workflows the use of District Planning Committee funds and the prioritisation of expenditureReview ordered for rented hostels and Anganwadi centresThe Chief Minister also ordered a review of hostels Anganwadi centres and Ashram schools operating from rented premisesA review should be conducted of hostels Anganwadi centres and Ashram schools running in rented buildings to inspect whether students are receiving essential facilities Planning should be done to set up infrastructure using new lease models Actions regarding students residence meals and other basic amenities must be taken with sensitivity the Chief Minister saidThe review is intended to assess whether students using such facilities have access to basic amenities and whether continuing to operate from rented buildings is appropriate The government is also considering new leasebased arrangements for infrastructure where requiredProposal sought for Anganwadi centres in civic schoolsFadnavis also asked officials to submit a proposal following a request from Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare to establish Anganwadi centres in municipal corporation schoolsThe move would require coordination between the Women and Child Development Department and urban local bodies including municipal corporations The Chief Minister directed that the proposal be submitted for further considerationThe state Women and Child Development Department currently oversees Anganwadirelated programmes and identifies the centres as part of its child development and nutrition infrastructureFadnavis also directed action on a demand from Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat concerning departmentrun hostels that have very low student enrolment operate largely on a nominal basis or lack essential facilitiesAccording to the directive such hostels should be examined and those that do not serve their intended purpose could be closedWith inputs from IANS