Bandra schoolkids audit local area councillors’ work

Tuesday morning in Bandra saw a group of school students toiling up and down the streets to verify the work undertaken by municipal councillors in the past two years.

Thirty students from St Elias High school marched with their teacher tallying every penny spent by the municipal councillor in their area.

The information under RTI revealed that the municipal councillors in Bandra (West) have spent around 4 crore in the name of repair of drainage system, blocks on pathways and to construct community toilets in the area.

Amazed by the funds allotted repeatedly for same set of tasks, the faculty and the students decided to examine whether the money spent is justified.

“The students from ninth standard surveyed the area for two hours. The audit revealed several fault lines in the work undertaken. Only a patch work and minor work has been undertaken in the name of repairs,” said Raja Bunch, teacher of the school who filed the RTI.

Meanwhile, the councillors had illustrated that the funds have been incurred to lay galvanised pipe and provide water connections in housing societies in Khar (West).

“The money shown for the repairs and development of the area is highly inflated. The nature of work shows that it is not more than a few thousands worth. The question arises where has the money of the tax payers has gone?” questioned Bunch.

After this revelation, the school has decided to carry out many such audits in the area to make the authorities answerable. A planned schedule will be executed and the audits will now be carried out every fortnight.

Philomina Sequeira, Principal of the school, stated that this exercise will not only keep a tab on corruption but will also make the students aware of their rights.

“Under the subject of personality development and social service, these visits will provide practical experience beyond classroom teaching,” Sequeira said.

Meanwhile, Ashish Shelar, Municipal councillor of the area, pointed out, that the nature of work has been unsatisfactory. Getting funds is an issue.

Yet the civic administration and the municipal commissioner should monitor the quality of work undertaken.