Min’s remarks spark row amid crumbling infra, frozen funds

Even as the 2,710 school buildings in Rajasthan were found in a dilapidated condition since 2024 but the allocated budget of 2254 crores was delayed, as per an internal report of the education department, state education minister Madan Dilawar on Saturday said that he cannot pay the money from his “own pocket,” sparking a controversy in the state.

- Senjuti Sengupta and Suresh Foujdar

According to the report, the department had identified 710 dilapidated school buildings during 2024-25 for which a 379.24 crores had been allocated in the budget for their repair. Another 2,000 school buildings were identified in the current 2025-26 financial year for which the government allocated a 2174.97 crores fund for the renovation work.

HT has seen a copy of the report. Of these 2,710 dilapidated buildings, 83 buildings were also identified in the Jhalawar district, as per the report, including the six buildings in particular in the district's Manohar Thana block, where the Pipdoli Government Higher Primary School is located that had collapsed on Friday leading to the deaths of seven minor students.