2023 Vice-Chancellor appointment Bill reintroduced in Himachal Assembly, passed

The Vidhan Sabha today passed the Himachal Pradesh Universities of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to resolve the stalemate between the Raj Bhawan and the state government over the appointment of the Vice-Chancellors (VCs) of two universities.

The Bill was re-introduced in the Assembly and passed to pave the way for the appointment of the Vice-Chancellors of Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni in Solan district, and CSK Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur. The Bill was passed after the government withdrew the pending Himachal Pradesh Universities of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The appointments have been pending for the past some time due to confrontation brewing over the issue between the Raj Bhawan and the state government.

Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar said that the Himachal Pradesh Universities of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was passed on September 4 last year and sent to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla for his assent on October 10, 2024. “However, the Governor observed that since the Amendment Bill, 2023, was sent to the President of India for consideration on July 24, 2024, through the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, it would not be appropriate to take action on the Amendment Bill, 2024, until any information is received from the Central Government on the Amendment Bill, 2023,” he added.

The minister said that in view of this observation, the state government had decided to withdraw the Amendment Bill, 2024, and the Amendment Bill, 2023, may be considered for the assent of the Governor. He added that the Cabinet in its meeting on July 29 this year had also decided to withdrawn the Amendment Bill, 2024. The Assembly had passed the Amendment Bill, 2023, on September 21, 2023, and sent to the Governor for his assent, who referred it back to the government with some observations.

The Governor, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the two universities, had constituted a selection committee and invited applications for the two posts of Vice-Chancellor but the state government opposed it and issued a notification declaring the advertisement null and void. The Raj Bhawan, while affirming that the Governor in his capacity as Chancellor could invite applications, extended the date.

Provisions restrictive, need to be amended

• The reasons and objects cited in the Himachal Pradesh Universities of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry (Amendment) Bill, 2023, passed on Tuesday point out that the provisions in the procedure for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors are restrictive and do not take into account the aspirations of people
• They also do not allow a democratic government to exercise its right to shape the institutions of higher learning
• Sections 2, 23, 24 of the Act need to be amended, as there is no role of a democratically-elected government in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors though it gives grant-in-aid
• A new 55-A Section has been added to empower the government to make rules for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors