Parents seek answers as school asked to vacate

Post MiD DAY's report on BMC serving an evacuation notice to Balaji School in Malad, fretful parents demand to meet the school's management, which continues to maintain that the building is legal

Post MiD DAY's report on BMC serving an evacuation notice to Balaji School in Malad, fretful parents demand to meet the school's management, which continues to maintain that the building is legal
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Tense parents thronged Malad's Shri Balaji International Schoolu00a0 last morning, seeking answers from the school's administration.

After MiD DAY's cover story yesterday ('Vacate this school: BMC'), parents of students affected by the uncertain evacuation have decided to meet the school management to question them about the notice, and subsequent action they plan to take.


While the school has accused the owner of the garage on its east side of encroachment, the garage owner says it was the school management that encroached

Most parents were upset with the school administration for not coming clean with facts at the time of admission, despite charging exorbitant fees.

As the school maintains its stand of being completely legal, the fate of some 1,000 students hangs in the balance, in case things come to a head with civic authorities.

A parent, who did not wish to be named, said, "We feel betrayed. Where do we take our kids from here?"
On December 15, 2010, a notice issued by Assistant Engineer, Building Proposal Department, P Ward, BMC (copy with MiD DAY) to Ashok Gupta, managing trustee of the school, mentions the corporation's objection to the school's functioning without an Occupation Certificate and its alleged violations of fire safety and FSI norms.

The management, meanwhile, has put up a clarification on the school's notice board. It maintains it has all necessary documents attesting that the building is legal, and not unauthorised as claimed by the BMC.

Also, the management holds the garage - allegedly encroaching on property meant for a wider access road to the school as stipulated by the civic body's pre-approved plan for the school's construction and civic officials responsible for the situation.

Turf wars

Meanwhile, Sunil Kumar, the owner of the garage on the school's east side, accused by the school of encroachment on land where a wider access road to the school for emergency situations is supposed to be, is not giving ground.

"I have already obtained a stay order from the court and nobody can throw me out of this place. The garage has been here since 1967, when the school didn't even exist.

If the school has not violated any norms, why was an MRTP case registered against the trustees? Why were orders to stop work issued by the BMC?
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And why was the electrical power sub-station demolished? If everything is legal, why is any action being taken at all?" he demanded to know.

Incidentally, a wine shop exists within a 100-metre radius of the school. However, the wine shop owners say that they have been running the business for decades and that the school has come up recently.

The school administration and trustee refused to comment on the matter.

Expert's take

IPS officer-turned-advocate, Y P Singh, who is also a crusader for the Adarsh and Lavasa land scams, said, "If the wine shop has been in existence before the school came up, the Supreme Court order disallowing a wine shop within a 100-metre proximity of a school cannot be applied retrospectively.
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It can only be applied to wine shops coming up in the future. Secondly, in light of the foreign liquor licence rules, the authorities will have to examine whether the newly setup international school fits the criteria."

Singh added, "Under the recent SC ruling, it has been made mandatory for all schools to comply with the National Building Code of India.

The BMC needs to examine this aspect, specially with regard to open spaces around the building, because under the code, any building about 15 m (or five-storey tall) is classified as a high-rise, subject to stringent regulations for fire safety, including adequate exit provisions and open space requirement to tackle emergency.
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This order came after a fire mishap in a school that killed several children."