*Irani assures early release of blocked SSA funds
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 11: Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti Zubin Irani today directed the high-level team assigned the task of finalizing the site for establishment of permanent campus of Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu to inspect the fresh locations proposed by the Jammu and Kashmir Government as early as possible. Moreover, the team has also been directed to take early decision on temporary campus so that prestigious institution starts functioning from the current academic year.
The directions were passed after J&K’s Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar called on HRD Minister at Union Capital and conveyed keenness of the State Government in making the IIT Jammu functional without any delay. Mr Akhtar is reported to have told Smriti Zubin Irani that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led Government was ready to extend every possible help so that IIT Jammu becomes functional from the current year albeit from the temporary campus.
J&K’s Education Minister, while seeking intervention of Union HRD Minister in speeding up the process for setting up of proposed IIT at Jammu, informed Smriti Irani that two new sites have been identified by the State for establishment of permanent campus and the same should be inspected at the earliest.
According to the sources, these new sites are located in Thathar and Kot Bhalwal areas in the outskirts of Jammu city and have been proposed by the State Government on the basis of reports received from high-level team of State Government officers led by Divisional Commissioner Jammu, who visited these areas few days back.
Apart from these two sites, Naeem Akhtar also stressed that Central team should once again visit Ghagwal area of Samba district where around 3000 kanals of land in two villages would become easily available for establishment of IIT Jammu. There is every justification behind laying stress on Ghagwal site as with the widening of the National Highway not much time is consumed in reaching this site from Jammu Airport.
The HRD Minister, keeping in view the interest being shown by the J&K Government in this prestigious institution, issued directions for early inspection of two new sites and re-inspection of the site proposed at Ghagwal in order to expedite the process for setting up of the institute, sources informed.
The Union Ministry should understand the difficulties in making available huge chunk of land in the immediate vicinity of Jammu and it should make some sort of relaxations vis-à-vis location of the site so that process is set into motion on the ground for establishment of IIT Jammu.
“Not only the sites for permanent campus, the team would also visit Old University Campus, which has been proposed for temporary campus of IIT Jammu. Running of IIT Jammu temporarily from Old University Campus is most viable as compared to the campus of Government College of Engineering and Technology at Chak Bhalwal especially in view of the recent increase in number of seats of GCET by the HRD Ministry, sources added.
Accompanied by Priya Sethi, Minister of State for Education and Commissioner Secretary Higher Education, Sarita Chauhan, Naeem Akhtar also sought the intervention of the HRD Minister for early release of funds withheld by the Centre under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. He informed the Union Minister that hundreds of teachers, drawing their salary under the scheme, have not been paid for the past several months because of non-availability of adequate resources.
“For the sins committed by the previous dispensation, the present Government in Jammu and Kashmir should not be punished”, Mr Akhtar is reported to have told the Union Minister. He also informed Smriti Irani that present dispensation has released an amount of Rs 155 crore for SSA activities, which was withheld by the previous Government.
The HRD Minister issued directions to the concerned authorities of the Ministry for expediting release of SSA funds for the current year to the J&K so that not only the salaries of the aggrieved teachers are released, even infrastructure development is speeded up in the school education sector. Smriti Irani also told the J&K Minister for Education that she would personally take an overall review of the education sector in J&K so that deficiencies in infrastructure and human resource are addressed comprehensively.
Akhtar also sought the intervention of the Union HRD Minister for the release of special funds to rebuild the flood-hit infrastructure in education sector in the State. He said while the educational institutions across the State were badly hit by devastating floods on September 2014, educational hub in the heart of Srinagar was the worst affected.
He said that Vice-Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) visited the flood-affected institutions of higher education in Srinagar recently for personal assessment of the damages and has submitted his recommendations to the HRD Ministry for special funding to rebuild the damaged infrastructure.
Akhtar also sought the intervention of the Union Minister for sanctioning more Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) and Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) in J&K in view of the fact that several new districts have been established in the State.
Union Minister assured sanctioning of more JNVs and KVs for J&K to cover the uncovered districts.
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