Dipke Suggests Using PM CARES Fund To Improve Schools For Underprivileged Children
Dipke proposes using PM CARES funds to improve schools.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider using the PM CARES Fund to improve infrastructure in rural government schools. Dipke, whose party has launched the "School Thik Karo" campaign, argued that children in rural areas continue to face a lack of basic facilities such as proper roads, benches and drinking water. He suggested that a portion of the fund could be used to develop new model schools.
Dipke pointed to the latest audit report of the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund, which recorded a total balance of Rs 8,452 crore as of March 31, 2025. The balance had increased from Rs 7,173 crore a year earlier. According to the report, Rs 7,846 crore was held in fixed deposits, while Rs 605 crore was maintained in savings bank accounts.
In a video statement posted on X, Dipke argued that the availability of funds should be considered alongside the infrastructure problems he encountered during visits to rural schools in Maharashtra. He claimed that officials had cited a shortage of funds when he asked about inadequate basic facilities. Dipke questioned why money in the PM CARES Fund could not be directed towards improving school infrastructure and providing better facilities for children.
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Using an illustrative calculation, Dipke suggested that if a well-equipped school cost approximately Rs 8 crore to construct, the Rs 8,500 crore balance could theoretically fund more than 1,000 such schools. He described the proposed institutions as high-tech model schools equipped with better facilities. His calculation was presented as an argument for greater use of available resources rather than as an official government proposal or approved funding plan.
Dipke also shared photographs on social media showing a poorly maintained toilet and a run-down school building as examples of the conditions he claimed to have encountered. He appealed to the public to urge the Prime Minister to use the PM CARES Fund for education and school infrastructure, arguing that the money should benefit children from poorer communities.
The PM CARES Fund was established to provide assistance during emergencies and has supported several initiatives, including the PM CARES for Children Scheme for children who lost parents or guardians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest audit report recorded expenditure of Rs 87.85 lakh on the scheme during 2024-25, compared with Rs 15.37 crore in the previous financial year. Dipke's remarks have therefore focused attention on how the fund's resources are held and deployed, while his proposal to use them for schools remains a political suggestion rather than an announced government policy.
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