Ranka wrote on X that it was a “sheer coincidence” that about ₹400 crore had been released for 472 schools on the day the CJP entered Udaipur, adding that roughly 30 per cent of the schools covered by the order were in Udaipur. His post sought to suggest that the timing reflected pressure created by the CJP’s campaign, though he offered no evidence that the sanction was issued because of the group’s visit.
The official amount is ₹401.03 crore, not ₹4,000 crore as stated in some accounts of Ranka’s remark. The administrative sanction was issued by the Rajasthan Council of School Education under NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, RIDF-XXXII, after Finance Department approval dated September 14.
The order covers 261 primary schools, 128 upper primary schools and 83 senior secondary schools. The sanctioned expenditure includes construction and reconstruction, furniture and fixtures, laboratory equipment, smart classrooms, electricity and water facilities, as well as contingency and quality-control costs.
Ranka’s intervention came as CJP teams reached Udaipur for the second phase of their “School Thik Karo” campaign, focused on schools in tribal areas. The group has branded the phase “Adivasi School Thik Karo” and has said it intends to document infrastructure deficiencies and pursue follow-up action with the authorities.
Another CJP member, Saurav Das, amplified the criticism by asking Rajasthan residents to tell the organisation where it should visit next, suggesting that government repairs and funding appeared to follow its campaign stops. The comments formed part of the group’s broader attempt to connect its inspections with subsequent government action on school buildings.
The state government has separately outlined a three-year school infrastructure plan estimated at about ₹12,500 crore for 2026-27 to 2028-29. The programme covers new buildings, classrooms, major repairs, toilets and technology upgrades across government schools, and predates the latest Udaipur leg of the CJP campaign.
The government’s roadmap envisaged ₹2,487.75 crore for 3,587 new school buildings, ₹8,378.30 crore for 83,783 classrooms, ₹1,129.45 crore for major repairs at 22,589 schools and ₹340.40 crore for 13,616 toilet complexes. Officials said projects worth more than ₹3,000 crore were sanctioned, tendered or under implementation, indicating that the programme was under preparation before the CJP’s Udaipur visit. Technology spending was planned for smart classrooms, tablets and technology laboratories.
Government data released during the wider debate over school infrastructure showed that hundreds of state-run schools lacked their own buildings, while others faced shortages of toilets, drinking water or safe classrooms. The figures have become a central issue in the CJP’s campaign, which began on August 15 and has used visits, videos and public demonstrations to highlight conditions at selected schools.
Tensions between the group and state authorities rose after a confrontation during an August visit to a government school at Rampura Kanwarpura in Jaipur district’s Bagru constituency. The school had been operating in temporary arrangements after its old building was declared unsafe. The government later sanctioned construction of a new building there, while competing accounts emerged over the confrontation involving CJP members and local residents.
Ranka subsequently alleged that police personnel were monitoring people entering and leaving his Jaipur residence. Rajasthan Police did not publicly substantiate his allegation, and the CJP said it would continue visiting schools despite what it described as attempts to deter the campaign.
The Education Department has also tightened rules governing outsider access and photography inside government schools, citing student safety and privacy. CJP members have argued that such restrictions should not prevent public scrutiny of deficient infrastructure, while officials have maintained that school visits must comply with administrative procedures.
