Lit Serves Notice Of Cancellation Of Allotment For New Senior Secondary School; Orders Property Handover

May22,2025 | Jagrati Lahar Bureau | Ludhiana

Court of SDM (East) orders DEO to immediately take possession of

all records maintained at the school and assume supervision of its operations

The Chairman of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT), through a letter dated May 19, 2025, addressed to the Secretary, New Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana, has informed that the allotment to the President of the Shivalik Public Welfare Trust has been cancelled. This decision was taken via Resolution No.132 dated May 6, 2025, and has been approved by the government through a letter dated May 15, 2025. It may be mentioned here that Shivalik Public Welfare Trust runs New Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana.

The property in question is now declared as belonging to the Ludhiana Improvement Trust. Accordingly, the Secretary of New Senior Secondary School has been directed to hand over possession of the property to the Trust within 15 days.

Earlier, on May 16, 2025 the Court of SDM (East), Jasleen Kaur Bhullar, ordered the District Education Officer (Secondary Education) to immediately take possession of all records maintained at the school and assume supervision of its operations.

It is pertinent to mention that the New High School Alumni (Old Student Association) of New Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana, has raised allegations of fund misuse against the school's management committee. An FIR has already been registered at Police Division No. 5, Ludhiana on January 8, 2025. It was alleged in the FIR that a land measuring 4.71 acre (1.59 and 3.12 acre) was allotted by Improvement Trust, Ludhiana for running the school at subsidised rates. However, the present school management, while going against conditions of the allotment, divided the site of the school in various parts and illegally transferred the land to other persons. Thus, the land was subdivided and used for commercial purposes. As per the FIR, different persons were given possession of the land on high rents after transferring the same. Tampering/ cutting was found in the sale deed done in favour of the school by Improvement Trust, Ludhiana.

Earlier last year, the Deputy Commissioner Office, Ludhiana, with the intervention of Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, had initiated an inquiry against the school management committee. The Deputy Commissioner’s Office had constituted a 3-member inquiry committee with the direction to submit the complete conclusive report to DC Office. Arora, on August 1, 2024, had written to Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana stating that it has been brought to his attention by the New High School Alumni Association, supported by esteemed members such as Rakesh Bharti Mittal (Airtel Group) and Onkar Singh Pahwa (Avon Cycles Group), that the school once a prime institution of Punjab, reputation and operational integrity has significantly declined under the current management committee. There are serious allegations that the committee is misusing school properties for personal commercial gain, which is detrimentally affecting the school's primary objective of providing quality education.