2 years after Centre's nod, IGNTU remains a distant dream

The New Indian Express (Bhubaneswar), Jan 14, 2013

By Express News Service - BHUBANESWAR

14th January 2013 11:17 AM

Two years after the Union Government favoured establishment of a regional centre of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU), Amarkantak (MP), in Odisha, it is yet to see light of the day.

 Identifying backwardness in education as one of the causes behind the ethno-communal violence in Kandhamal, the State Government had asked the Centre to set up a regional campus of IGNTU-Amarkantak at Phulbani, the district headquarters town, in November, 2008.

But a similar demand was made for Kalahandi when the State Government chose Koraput for the Central University.

 Apparently, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in 2010 favoured either of the two places for the regional centre, considering availability of resources, including 300 acres of land.

 While Kalahandi administration identified the land for the purpose, Kandhamal is yet to do so.

The same year, the then Additional District Magistrate (ADM) had identified the required 300 acres of land in Benda Jhola and Kumudabahal village in Thuamul-Rampur panchayat samiti of the district and informed the same to the Department of Higher Education (DHE), Odisha.

However, after receiving the letter from the ADM, the DHE allegedly did not initiate the follow-up action.

 With the project being already delayed by two years, DHE Secretary Gagan Dhal recently wrote to Kandhamal Collector B S Punia to immediately submit details of availability of land at Phulbani  for IGNTU campus and send the proposal again to the Centre for an approval.

 However, Punia said Phulbani does not have  300 acres of land that is connected either to State or National Highway, or has electricity and drinking water facilities.

“The major issue is that we do not have such a huge patch of government land available at Phulbani. Whatever is available is either forest land or belongs to tribal families,” Punia said.

 While uncertainty continues to loom over the project owing to the government apathy, other states like Andhra Pradesh and Manipur with a significant tribal population have already got their IGNTU regional campuses.

 Educationists have, meanwhile, urged   Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to look into the issue promoting education among the tribal communities in Odisha.

 IGNTU, set up under an Act in 2007 with jurisdiction over the entire country, provides avenues of education, particularly higher education and research facilities primarily for the tribal population of the country.