School claims permission for repair of flood-damaged parts

Authorities of the DAV School here have alleged that the state administration denied them permission to rebuild parts of its campus damaged by floods last year and sought Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's intervention in the matter.
The administration, however, refuted allegations, saying that it needed time to resolve pending issues.
"Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are requested to intervene and direct the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to grant permission to DAV School, Srinagar, to repair the flood-hit school infrastructure," Chairman of DAV School Management T K Ganjoo said.
The Housing and Urban Development department had issued an order after the floods wherein authorities were asked to grant immediate permission to carry out complete repairs and renovation of the damaged infrastructure, including schools in Srinagar, he said.

"But we are being forced to run from pillar to post even after one year," he said.
Ganjoo alleged that the state administration was "harassing" them because the school is a "minority institution" in the Kashmir valley.

The SMC is "sitting on" the school's file for the past 11 months in spite of the High Court orders. Authorities are showing a total disregard for granting permission which ultimately may result in closure of the school on security grounds, he said.
The school suffered heavy damages and even after completing all formalities, we were deprived of the permission. We moved the High Court in December last year in this regard, he said.

The High Court then directed the government to ensure grant of permission as per the order of Housing and Urban Development department with regard to reconstruction and renovation of damaged infrastructure.