The Ashirvad Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, which runs the institution, built the St Xavier's English School at Survey No 275, Ghodbunder, Thane, in 1991 despite a Supreme Court directive banning schools and hospitals from being built in and around chemical zones.

Moreover, the land on which the school is built is in dispute, with a Mumbai-based businessman Ram Khanna squabbling with the state government over its ownership.

But there is more. Far from being a role model as an educationist, the Mandal's founder-chairperson, P R Rai, has 11 criminal cases registered against him, including one under the National Security Act (NSA) andanother registered by the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). However, despite the gravity of the situation, the school was still given recognition by the state government.

Khanna purchased the plot in 1966 but was unable to set up industries on it due to restrictions on industrial development in the area at the time. In due course, the area was declared a chemical zone and a rash of industrial units sprouted in the vicinity. It was during this time that Rai built the school on the plot.

Today, five chemical industries encircle the school - Bombay Chemicals, Bullendal Cole, Goodwill Chemicals, Uni-abex and Emerald Woollen Mills Pvt Ltd. P R Rai was not available for comment but his wife, Lalita, who is one of the school's directors, scoffs at any threat to the children's lives. ``There is absolutely no danger to the students from the chemical industries. Nothing has happened since 1991, when the school started functioning,'' Lalita told Express Newsline.

She, however, admits that the building wasunauthorised. ``To say so, the school building is an encroachment on the land. But the land's ownership is in dispute. We have been paying a fine to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) for the unauthorised structure. But all the buildings here are unauthorised. Why target the school?'' she asks.

Lalita also claims the criminal cases against her husband are false. ``All the cases have been registered against my husband after bribing the police. The ACB case is also false. These are our rivals' ways of troubling us,'' she adds.

Commissioner T S Chandrashekhar confirms that the school was set up in a chemical zone. ``The TMC has issued notices to the school management. It will have to be shifted,'' he told Newsline. But, he says, the structure cannot be demolished as the Urban Development Dept has issued a stay on razing the structure.

The commissioner confirms that the land's ownership is in dispute. While Khanna says the plot belongs to him, the Revenue Department of the state government hasalso laid claim to the property.

P R Rai's criminal record

1) Prohibition case 21/74 under Section 107 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)
2) Prohibition case 30/76 under Section 110 (e), (g) of CrPC (illegal storage and transportation)
3) Prohibition case 29/78 under Section 107 of the CrPC
4) Action under NSA on April 10, 1981 (Home/DCP/NAG/NSA/PD/7/81)
5) CR No 118/73 under Sections 447, 504 and 506 of IPC at Kapurbawdi police station
6) CR No 238/74 under Sections 341, 435 and 441 of the IPC at Kapurbawdi police station
7) CR No 276/79 under Sections 447 and 34 of the IPC at Kapurbawdi police station
8) CR No 7/80 under Sections 147, 148, 149, (rioting) 354, 427 and 34 of IPC at Kapurbawdi police station
9) CR no 122/80 under Section 341 of the IPC (wrongful restraint) at Kapurbawdi police station
10) CR No 331/78 under Section 447 of the IPC (criminal trespass) at Kapurbawdi police station
11) CR No 279/79 under Section 25 (c) of the Arms Act (illegal possessionof a fatal weapon) at Lonavala police station (was fined Rs 100).