Pupils migrate out of Pangi as disputes, delays plague govt college development

Naresh Thakur

Chamba, July 15

Land disputes and bureaucratic red tape have hampered the construction of important facilities at Government Degree College (GDC), Pangi, causing local students to migrate out of the valley for higher studies.

Pangwal Ekta Manch, a Pangi community forum, has now urged the state government to take immediate action in this regard.

Established in 2007, the college began operations at Killar Government Senior Secondary School. The college did not move to its administrative block until October 2018, when the then-Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated it. The building, which cost around Rs 20 crore, now serves as many as 250 students.

According to Trilok Thakur, Chairman of the Pangi Ekta Manch, the college’s initial development plan included transferring 6.13 bigha of government land from the Revenue Department to the Higher Education Department in order to create a centralised campus. However, in August-September 2021, a demarcation exercise led by the Pangi Resident Commissioner, aimed to secure the land for the college, ran into difficulties. A dispute arose between the Rural Development Department and the college authorities over the clear title to the land.

“Unavailability of land has had a significant impact on the construction of the science and arts blocks, as well as boys’ and girls’ hostels. Budget allocations for these projects, including Rs 10.50 lakh and Rs 9.50 lakh in the 2020-21 Tribal Area Sub-Plan budget, have not been fully utilised,” Thakur said.

The college authorities lament the lack of tangible progress despite their annual contributions to the local PWD. A provision of Rs 60 lakh has been set aside for the current fiscal year 2024-25, but the projects are yet to be initiated.

In 2022, an attempt by the college and Pangi administration to build the necessary infrastructure some 3 km from the current campus failed.

The proposed location contradicted the original plan for a centralised campus, prompting the project’s rejection due to pending FCA clearance and land suitability concerns.

A possible solution is to relocate the existing offices of the Rural Development Department (BDO), Horticulture, and Agriculture to the new Mini Secretariat building at Killar, which is being constructed at a cost of Rs 24 crore. This would free up enough land to build the college campus at Killar. This would also allow for future expansion, such as for a postgraduate and IGNOU study centres.

In addition to land and infrastructure issues, the GDC faces acute academic staff shortage, with 13 vacant Assistant Professor positions across a variety of subjects. The college’s remote location added to the urgency of filling these positions, Thakur added.

Thakur stated that the Pangwal Ekta Manch had urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to direct the Principal Secretary (Tribal Development), Secretary (Higher Education), and Resident Commissioner Pangi to address these pressing issues.

Pangi residents, he said, felt underserved by local political leadership and demanded accountability and responsibility from those involved in the valley’s development projects.

He also requested an investigation into the actions of past revenue officers in failing to transfer the land to the college.

Possible solution

A possible solution is to relocate the existing offices of the Rural Development Department (BDO), Horticulture, and Agriculture to the new Mini Secretariat building at Killar, which is being constructed at a cost of Rs 24 crore. This would free up enough land and infrastructure to build the college campus at Killar.