There is good news for private schools. Rejecting the appeal of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Supreme Court has cleared the way for expansion of resources in hundreds of private schools of the capital without paying fees. With this decision, the fight for admission in private schools will reduce in future, because more than 1.5 lakh admissions will be possible.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Arvind Kumar dismissed DDA’s special leave plea challenging the 2021 Delhi High Court verdict. The High Court had said in its decision that if the additional FAR (Floor Area Ratio) is used by the private school for expansion of resources (construction of additional building or increasing the number of floors) then DDA is not entitled to charge any fee. ,
The Supreme Court has said in its order that after hearing all the facts and parties, we are not ready to interfere in the decision of the High Court. Making this comment, the bench rejected the appeal of DDA against the decision of Delhi High Court.
The struggle for admission will end
Advocate Kamal Gupta, on behalf of the Union Action Committee of Private Schools, said that this decision of the Supreme Court will end the fight for admission in private schools every year. In fact, due to the m.fold increase in the population of Delhi and shortage of schools for the last several decades, there is a fight for admission every year. City planners then recognized the need for more schools for easy enrollment of children and suggested the government to increase/upgrade the capacity of existing schools to overcome this shortage.
Planners believed that land in Delhi was limited, so they suggested upgrading existing schools to meet the shortage. Subsequently, to meet the growing needs of existing educational institutions/schools by increasing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR), provision for additional FAR was made in the Master Plan 2021 on February 7, 2007.
DDA order was challenged by Sangh Action Committee
To avail additional FAR by schools under the provisions of Master Plan 2021, DDA on August 29, 2008 ordered schools to deposit 10 per cent of the cost of land at the time of allotment. The Association Action Committee of private schools has filed a petition in the High Court against the DDA order and demanded its cancellation. The schools told the High Court that DDA has no right to demand money in lieu of additional FAR. Advocate Kamal Gupta, appearing for the schools, had told the High Court that the DDA had allotted land at premium rates and charged fees according to the location of the land. In this case, the single judge bench of the High Court had given its verdict in favor of private schools in 2020.
