Ghaziabad: In Mustafabad, a school built for Rs 3 crore has spent seven years waiting for its first class.The Govt Model Boys Inter College was completed in March 2019 and handed over to the education department. But before a single lesson could be taught in its 10 rooms, the Covid pandemic forced classes to move online. Over the years, a vast mound of garbage grew around its 5,890-sqm campus even as the building was declared dilapidated during a 2023 inspection.As the education department has started moving files so that the school can finally do what it was built for — hold classes — the civic corporation began clearing the 3.75 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste that it allowed to accumulate around its campus around six months ago.Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation officials said the corporation has hired Noida-based CNDS Pvt Ltd to remove the garbage as part of an Rs 18 crore project. Of the estimated 3.75 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste at the site, about 1.75 lakh metric tonnes have also been removed. The corporation expects to clear the rest by the end of the year so that classes can start in the next academic session.Deputy municipal commissioner (Loni) Vaibhav Tripathi told TOI that most of the waste accumulated at the site was legacy waste — old, untreated municipal solid waste that has been lying at the site for a long period and accumulated over the years. “The waste is being transported to the municipal waste treatment plant at Meerpur Hindu village, where waste from Ghaziabad, Khoda and Loni will be processed,” he said.Clearing the dump, however, is only one part of the task. The school itself has deteriorated during the years it stood unused. In Oct 2023, a TOI report, “Tiles broken, door and windows gone: New boys’ college building stripped bare”, stated how the building’s wall paint and cement had started to peel off, tiles and staircases had broken, doors, windows and other furnishings had gone missing, and a two-storey-high garbage dump sat near it. The report also said that the campus had no approach road and a transformer installed there was stolen.On Tuesday, district school inspector BP Singh told TOI that the education department has sent a proposal seeking around Rs 1 crore for renovation of the Mustafabad inter-college building and the budget was expected to be released this month. “Once the money is received, renovation work is expected to begin by Dec,” he said.The district administration too has now set a timeline for making the campus accessible. District magistrate Ravindra Mander said while the waste-removal work had begun, road construction would follow. “Road construction for the school will also begin soon, with Dec being the tentative timeline for starting the work. Even if there is some delay, the college will be made functional before April next year. The budget is also expected to be approved soon,” he said.Meanwhile, as the boys’ college, intended to hold classes from standards 9 to 12 and serve students from Mustafabad and neighbouring villages, remained dysfunctional, its 122 students have been attending classes in two rooms at a girls’ inter-college in Premnagar, which has itself struggled for space.
