Punjab orders blue-yellow painting for 3,602 government schools under smart schools scheme.
Education department releases ₹80.45 crore for school whitewashing and colour-coding work.
Opposition alleges colours resemble AAP flag; DGSE denies political motive behind choice.
The Punjab government has ordered the painting of 3,602 government schools in yellow and blue, reviving a political controversy that erupted over a similar colour scheme introduced last year.
The state education department has sanctioned ₹80.45 crore for the work under its “Converting Govt Schools into Smart Schools” scheme, according to an October 1 order issued by the Director General of School Education (DGSE).
The order specifies “egg custard” and “enamel rhapsody” shades for the exterior portions of the schools. These include the outer buildings, verandahs and corridors. A pictorial representation attached to the order shows the proposed colour scheme for the school buildings.
Fresh Order Covers 3,602 Govt Schools
The latest exercise covers 1,895 primary schools, 764 high schools, 532 senior secondary schools and 411 middle schools.
Amritsar has the highest number of schools covered under the order, with 334 institutions, followed by Patiala with 326. Ludhiana has 261 schools, Gurdaspur 240, Hoshiarpur 236 and Jalandhar 231.
The order also covers 192 schools in Tarn Taran, 164 in Ferozepur, 144 in Sangrur, 131 in Fatehgarh Sahib, 117 in Bathinda and 80 in Ropar.
The latest order comes less than six months before the Punjab Assembly elections.
Opposition Alleges AAP Colour Link
The decision has drawn criticism from Opposition parties, which have alleged that the selected colours resemble those of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) flag.
A similar controversy had emerged in December last year when 852 government schools were included in an earlier colour-coding exercise. Opposition parties had then alleged that the choice of blue and yellow was politically motivated.
Aravind Kumar MK, DGSE, confirmed that the October 1 order was issued by his office.
Following the controversy over the December order, the DGSE had told The Indian Express that there was “nothing political behind the choice of the colours” and that the schools were undergoing routine renovation and whitewashing.
