MP School Paint Scam: ₹1.07 Lakh Spent for 4 Litres of Paint, 168 Labourers on One Wall

GG News Bureau
Shahdol, 5th July: In a bizarre example of “mathematical miracles,” a government school in Sakandi village of Shahdol district, Madhya Pradesh, allegedly employed 168 labourers and 65 masons to apply just four litres of oil paint to a single wall — raising serious concerns over misuse of public funds.

The scandal surfaced after bills from the Byohari Assembly constituency went viral on social media. According to these documents, ₹1.07 lakh was withdrawn for the painting job in Sakandi, and ₹2.3 lakh for just 20 litres of paint at another school in Nipaniya village.

In Nipaniya, the records show an even grander feat: 275 labourers and 150 masons were supposedly deployed to paint 10 windows and four doors.

But the most astonishing detail is not the labour-to-paint ratio — it’s the timelines. In one case, a bill dated May 5, 2025, was verified a month earlier on April 4 by the school principal. Moreover, the bills were approved without any of the legally mandated before-and-after photographs.

The work was allegedly executed by Sudhakar Construction, whose paperwork appears to have outshone the paint job itself.

Reacting to the viral controversy, District Education Officer Phool Singh Marpachi confirmed an inquiry has been initiated.

“Bills of these two schools are viral on social media. They are being investigated, and action will be taken based on the facts that emerge,” he said.

The incident has sparked public outrage and renewed demands for transparency and accountability in school infrastructure expenditures across rural India.