Central ministry panel clears Jadrangal for CUHP

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, September 28

The committee of the Union Ministry for Human Resources has approved the land offered by the state government at Jadrangal in Dharamsala Assembly constituency for the construction of campus of Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), sources here told The Tribune today.

The committee comprising University Grants Commission (UGC) secretary JS Sandhu , Joint Secretary Jitender Tripathi, Assistant Inspector General, Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) Kamal Preet; AIG Rajagopal Prashant, Principle Secretary (Education) Himachal, RD Dhiman; Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Jammu Ashok Aima, CUHP Vice- Chancellor Kuldip Chand Agnihotri and Superintendent Engineer, Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Shimla circle PK Aggrawal had inspected site at Jadrangal on September 1. 

Since entire land that has been proposed in Jadrangal is forest land, the sources here said that the case for diversion of the proposed land for other purpose would now be sent the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests for clearance. The case would be sent by the state forest department on the request of the CUHP.

VC of the CUHP Kuldeep Agnihorti, when contacted, said, “We hope that the university would get its own land very soon on which the campus could be built. The university was already facing problems of shortage of space in its existing temporary campus.

Sources here said that it might take at least another six months before the land could be transferred to the university even if the things move at a fast pace. The state Department of Forests would now have to make a detailed report regarding the forest land that has to be diverted for non-forest purposes and the number trees standing on it. The forest department would propose as to where it would provide alternative land for planting the trees that would be affected due to the project. 

The report would be sent to the special empowered committee of the MoEF that would give final clearance for diversion of forest land for the construction of the university. The CUHP would have to deposit the cost of the land and cost of planting about 10 times trees that would be affected by the project.

A tiff had been going on between the BJP and Congress leaders from Hamirpur parliamentary constituency led by their MP Anurag Thakur and Congress Rajya Sabha member Viplove Thakur and Congress and BJP leaders from Kangra parliamentary constituency regarding the location of the CUHP campus. 

The BJP leaders for Hamirpur parliamentary constituency wanted that the majority of the campus should come up in Dehra while only headquarters and a few colleges should come up at Dharamsala. The BJP and Congress leaders from Kangra parliamentary constituency had been lobbying for majority of CUHP campus in Dharamsala.

The sources here also said that though the land at Jadrangal has been approved a portion of CUHP land might also come up in Dehra at about 200 acre land that has already been transferred in the name of the university there.