Bumthang DT decides to approach govt. for Nu 10M

Nim Dorji | Bumthang

With the government’s initiative to provide lunch to primary schools, Bumthang dzongkhag tshogdu (DT) resolved to seek an additional Nu 10 million fund to construct kitchen, stores and dinning halls.

There are eight primary schools in Bumthang included in the feeding programme, however local government members raised concerns of not having adequate fund for construction of kitchen, dining hall and stores.

The dzongkhag administration provides rations and other necessary equipment. Chhoekhor gup who submitted the agenda said that although the government came up with the feeding programme to provide lunch, there is no separate fund allocated for the construction. “There are no facilities in the schools.” 

He said that there are four primary schools in his gewog and if the gewog fund were spent on the construction, developments works included in the 12th Plan would be affected.

Tang gup, Ugyen Nima, said that the initiative of the government to provide lunch in the primary school would benefit both parents and children. But while framing the 12th Plan, the feeding programme was not included and it would now incur cost on the gewog, he said.

Construction of facilities is underway in one of the three schools in Tang with the help of the dzongkhag, but the estimation for the construction of facilities in the other two schools was estimated about Nu 2M.

“ If two million is spent from the gewog fund, it will affect the other works included in the plan,” Tang gup said.

The Dzongkhag Education Officer, Kinley, said the dzongkhag funding it would affect the dzongkhag’s budget. “There is no need to construct all the facilities at one go with a huge budget,” he said.

However, local leaders said that since the dzongkhag helped some schools, it should be the same with the others.

The DT decided to approach the government for an additional fund of Nu10M for the construction.