Delhi Assembly Monsoon session begins today; bill on school fee hikes, 2 CAG reports to be tabled

NEW DELHI: A bill to regulate school fee hikes and two CAG reports on the performance of the previous AAP government are set to be tabled in the Monsoon session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, which starts on Monday, with the entire proceedings to be held in a paperless format. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will introduce two reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) during the session.

One of the CAG reports pertains to 'state finances for the year 2023-24' while the other focuses on the 'welfare of building and other construction workers' for the year ending on March 31, 2023. The BJP government has tabled other CAG reports in previous assembly sessions, targeting what it alleged was the Aam Aadmi Party's mismanagement when it was in power in the national capital.

The Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, will also be introduced in the House by Education Minister Ashish Sood. The bill seeks to regulate the process by which private schools in Delhi determine and revise their fees and aims to ensure transparency, accountability, and protection of parents' interests, while also providing a framework for the redressal of grievances.

Penalty slabs for arbitrary fee hikes

According to the Cabinet-approved ordinance, passed on April 29, the bill imposes strict penalties on schools that hike fees arbitrarily . For a first offence, schools will face fines ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, with repeat violations attracting penalties between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. If the school fails to refund within the specified time, the fine doubles after 20 days, triples after 40 days, and continues to increase with every 20-day delay.

Repeated violations may lead to a ban on holding official positions in the school management and loss of the right to propose future fee revisions. As part of the government's push towards a digital legislature, all documents will be accessed electronically by members. The Monsoon session will be the third session of the Delhi Assembly under the Rekha Gupta government.