PATNA, Feb. 22 -- Now legislators will have their say in construction and renovation of the school buildings located in their constituencies. Replying to a call attention motion moved by Rahui MLA Sunil Kumar and supported by 49 other MLAs, rural development minister Shravan Kumar, speaking on behalf of the education minister, assured the assembly on Friday that district magistrates (DMs) would be instructed to consider the legislators'' recommendations on priority for construction and renovation of school buildings. Speaker Prem Kumar presided over the proceedings when the call attention motion came up for discussion in the assembly. Raising the motion, Sunil Kumar said that if the government had acted on legislators' recommendations, there would have been no need to bring the issue to the house. The veteran legislator, in the assembly for 20 years, revealed that he is spending Rs.58 lakh from his own funds to construct a boundary wall at a school in Rahui headquarters. He also cited work done with his resources at Jawahar Kanya Vidyalaya in Bihar Sharif and noted that the Badi Pahadi High School received renovation only because it fell under the Smart City project. "The education department does not release funds for truly dilapidated schools. Money is spent by the department for those schools, where there is some collusion or understanding of the officials with contractors," Kumar alleged. He urged the government to carry out all school construction and repair works strictly on the recommendations of local legislators, who have first-hand knowledge of their constituencies. Nearly 50 MLAs signed the motion, reflecting broad support across the House, as listed in the official call attention notice. Former deputy chief minister and Katihar MLA Tar Kishor Prasad supported the motion after detailing how he had built two school buildings in his constituency under the Chief Minister's Area Development Scheme, but the education department failed to complete essential works like boundary walls. Another MLA Anil Kumar questioned the minister's statement that Rs.2,425 crore had been spent on maintenance and upkeep through tenders. He alleged irregularities and "bandarbaant" (improper distribution) of funds involving district programme officers and junior engineers, demanded a CBI inquiry in any district, and complained that MLAs are never informed about works executed by departmental committees. He also referred to the minister's claims regarding expenditure on school infrastructure. MLA Nitish Mishra also said that their recommendations for school building repair are not considered by the department. In his detailed reply after the debate, minister Shravan Kumar said the government is deeply concerned about the issues raised by the members. He clarified that a committee headed by the DM is already functional and that instructions would be issued to all DMs the same day to ensure priority action on MLAs' recommendations for school building projects "in all circumstances." Kumar explained that Rs.2,425 crore has been made available to the Bihar State Educational Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited to restore public faith in government schools. Construction and renovation works are executed through a transparent tender process. He added that every year, five schools in each district are taken up for construction or reconstruction on the basis of recommendations received from MLAs and MPs. The assurance is being viewed as a significant step towards greater coordination between elected representatives and the district administration for strengthening school infrastructure across Bihar....