NEW DELHI: School education in Delhi may become expensive as the Delhi Development Authority is considering going for auction of all school plots. Though the proposal had been opposed by all non-official members, the Authority will again take up the issue at its meeting on Wednesday.

The matter had first been raised at a meeting in 2003 when it was decided that sites for various types of professional or technical institutions should be disposed of by way of auction in future.

It had also been desired that the issue of auctioning land for schools, which are being run on a commercial basis, should also be examined in depth for a policy decision.

While the Nazul Rules 1981 had provided for allotment of institutional land for various purposes to public institutions, over a period of time the rules were amended to provide for disposal of land for certain purposes such as professional and technical institutions, clubs and community halls by auction instead of allotment at concessional rates.

But while schools, religious institutions and social and charitable institutions were still to be allotted land, DDA has proposed to include schools for auction as it felt that that the conditions for allotment of land for schools which included admission to students belonging to the weaker sections of society to the extent of 25 per cent and grant of free ship to them was being violated in most cases.

In effect, DDA noted that not only were many institutions not adhering to the conditions, there have also been practical difficulties in their actual enforcement. Also, it said, there were complaints that societies have been indulging in unauthorised transfer of such land by changing promoters and members, and as such many of the charitable societies have been cornered by persons for profiteering.

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