Noida seals school with 1,500 students over Rs 15 crore land dues

NOIDA: The Noida Authority on Monday sealed a CBSE-affiliated school with 1,500 students over non-payment of fees amounting to over Rs 15 crore.
Officials said a 3,550sqm plot was allotted to Uttarakhand Public School in Sector 56 in 1991. The Uttarakhand Jan Kalyan Parishad – which was setting up the school – paid 20% of the amount then. But after that, it never made any payment to the Authority, the officials alleged.

Although the Authority cancelled the land allotment in September 2020, it stopped short of sealing the school and gave time to the management to clear the dues. Officials said they sent repeated reminders to the authorities – the last being on April 21 – to make the payment, but they did not elicit any response.
On Monday, a team of Authority officials and police visited the school and pasted a notice on the main gate, saying no classes would be held from Tuesday.
When parents who had come to drop their kids at the school read the notice, it triggered a panic among them. Some of them clashed with the school staff and principal, asking why they were kept in the dark all this while. “Three years have passed since the school was issued a notice. All this while, the authorities continued to take hefty fees from us, but never bothered to inform about the land dues. Why are they playing with the future of our kids? Who will give them admission now?” asked a parent, whose two kids study in the school.
The parents have decided to stage a demonstration outside the Authority’s office on Tuesday. “We need answers. No classes would be conducted at the school from Tuesday. We want the authorities to take the responsibility of our kids and their admissions,” said Pushkar Raj, whose child studies in Class 10. The parents claimed they had paid the entire fee for April. Admissions to Class 11 and the registration for board exams were also done.
The school principal did not respond to repeated attempts for a comment. Around 1,500 students study in the co-ed school, which has classes till 12. Manoj Kataria, who heads the Gautam Budh Nagar Parents Welfare Society, assured he would talk to the school management and the Authority
Vandana Tripathi, an OSD at the Authority, said the school management was given ample time to clear the dues. “Initially, it paid only 20% of the amount. The rest was to be paid in installments. But they did not pay a single penny. A notice was handed to them in August 2020 and the land allotment was cancelled the next month,” she added.