Non Resident Oriya writes letter to PM, CM over activities of Vice- Chancellor of Central University of Orissa

Orissadiary.com, April 27, 2009

Report by Orissadiary correspondent; Bhubaneswar : Digambara Patra , an Non Resident Oriya , based at Lebanon as Assistant Professor,Department of Chemistry, American University of Beirut.Beirut, Lebanon,Email: digpatra@yahoo.com in a E Maik to the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, with subsequent copies to the Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, and Prof. Swabhi Banerjee, Vice- Chancellor of Central University of Orissa Media has written - It is totally disappointing and painful to learn that recently appointed vice-chancellor, Professor Surabhi Banerjee, of Central University of Orissa (CUO) is planning for a second campus in Bhubaneswar for her own personal convenience rather than take caring interest of Orissa state.

Keeping general election in mind, at the last moment Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Union Govt. of India has hurriedly appointed Prof. Surabhi Banerjee as the first vice-chancellor of the CUO and she is in no mood to move to Koraput due to lack of facilities like airport and modern health care units (Tathya.in, April 26, 2009 & Samaja, April 29, 2009).

A second campus of Central University of Orissa should not come in Bhubaneswar as Orissa state capital region is already hosting many national institutions of high repute like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), National University Bhubaneswar (NUB) and branch of All Indian Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) by Central Government of India in its vicinity apart from the fact that there are also proposals for many state Government and private Universities in Bhubaneswar region.

Many of us have been working hard to establish a Central University in KBK region since past five years keeping backwardness of KBK region in mind. People of Kalahandi have been struggling for a central university since past two decades for which Chief Minister of Orissa promised for establishment of Central University in Kalahandi in May 2008. Though it was expected that the proposed new Central University of Orissa will come up at Bhawanipatna as it meets all infrastructure cited by MHRD and centrally located in KBK, later on Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Patnaik decided it to set up at Koraput. That’s only keeping political advantage in sight (Tathya.in, April 26, 2009).

Earlier many petitions were given to honorable prime minister praying for justice towards the injustice caused by Chief Minister of Orissa to the people of Kalahandi (Ref: PMO ID No. 20/3/2008-PMP4/1673739 dated 27-08-2008), which are still pending.
In past couple of years state Government has proposed to Central Government of India to establish CUO at Koraput, branch of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) in Phulbani and Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Berhampur, all of them in South Orissa, and NISER, IIT, AIIMS and NUB in central Orissa, whereas no national institution has been proposed in Western Orissa region during this period. It would be wise to establish new campus of CUO in those regions of the state which are backward and needs attention in higher education in Western Orissa and not in Bhuabneswar region which is already hosting many similar establishments of high repute.

The second and third campuses of CUO must come in other KBK districts of Western Orissa region that desperately need national institutions. Kalahandi and Balangir are two ideal locations for such establishments. The distribution of CUO might be such that Arts, Law and management campus of CUO comes in Koraput, medical campus of CUO gets established in Bhawanipatna and Engineering campus of CUO gets established in Balangir.

By proposing for a second campus of CUO in rented house in Bhubaneswar the VC of CUO is diluting importance of such establishment in backward region like KBK, the move we strongly oppose. Rather we propose in case of second campus of CUO, it should be established at Bhawanipatna.

Further, Prof. Surbhi Banerjee is the official biographer of Jyoti Basu and in 1990 Prof. Banerjee's appointment as pro-VC of Calcutta University had created a major row (Ref: Times of India, March 1, 2009, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4205630.cms).

It may not be surprising that official who is alleged with controversy in the past might work towards her own personal interest without taking serious interest of a backward region like KBK and its people.

Sir, being an academician with high moral you must be realizing that such movement will destroy integrity of academic growth and make backward place socially more backward and ignored in higher education.

Politicization of higher education must be stopped by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and State Government of Orissa for the benefit of larger mass of the society, specially, for development of a backward region like KBK, one of the poorest regions in the nation.

I request you that any official who is not interested to go to Koraput, Bhawanipatna or Balangir to serve CUO must resign from her post or should be terminated from her duty. In India there are plenty of highly qualified professionals who are equally potent and efficient to serve as vice-chancellor of CUO in KBK region.

I also appeal and sincerely pray to you that such unhealthy practice by any official to establish second campus of CUO in Bhubaneswar should be denounced and in case of second campus of CUO, it should only be established in other KBK districts, such as in Kalahandi.