Gandhinagar, Sep 9 (IANS): The Gujarat government on Wednesday approved Rs 1.50 crore for improving residential and educational facilities at 29 Ashramshalas, grant-in-aid hostels and secondary schools in Aravalli district, benefiting around 4,922 tribal students.
The administrative approval has been granted under the ‘New Gujarat Pattern Scheme’ to provide equipment and infrastructure based on the requirements of students living and studying at these institutions.
The facilities to be developed include bunk beds with mattresses, classroom benches, washing machines, solar rooftop systems and reverse osmosis (RO) systems.
The bunk beds and mattresses will strengthen accommodation facilities for students staying in Ashramshalas and hostels, while additional benches are intended to improve classroom arrangements.
The approved funds will also be used for washing machines to support the day-to-day management of residential institutions and RO systems to provide access to treated drinking water. Solar rooftop installations are also part of the works planned under the approval.
“The decision was taken under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, with Tribal Development Minister Naresh Patel and Minister of State, Poonamchand Baranda, overseeing the department concerned,” officials said.
The government said the works would be implemented according to prescribed procurement procedures, financial regulations and other applicable rules.
Equipment procurement and installation will be subject to quality checks, while student safety will be taken into account during installation.
For equipment such as washing machines, suppliers will be required to provide demonstrations and necessary training to institutional staff.
Warranty, guarantee and after-sales service provisions will also be considered during procurement. Details of purchased equipment will be entered in stock registers, with regular inspections planned as part of the implementation process.
The government said the infrastructure improvements were intended to address both the educational and residential requirements of students in tribal areas.
In addition to classroom facilities, the works cover accommodation, drinking water, sanitation-related requirements, daily-use equipment and renewable-energy infrastructure.
The Rs 1.50 crore approval follows the technical and administrative clearances for the proposed works and will allow the facilities at the 29 institutions in Aravalli to be taken up for implementation under the New Gujarat Pattern.
