Funding Central Institutions: AP white paper puts Modi govt in a spot

Amaravati: In what has turned out to be an embarrassment to the BJP, the AP government on Friday released a white paper on the establishment of Central educational institutions since 2014, assured under the AP Reorganization Act.

The state government released it to counter the claims of the BJP and Union ministers that they have fulfilled all the promises made under the Act and had done even more.

HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, releasing the white paper said the Central government and BJP leaders had been misleading the public. 

He demanded that the Centre do likewise for the truth to come out. Even after four years, the Central government released only Rs 746 crore as against the required Rs 12,446 crore. 

This was just 5.58 per cent of the required funds. At this rate, it would take 20 to 30 years to establish 11 institutes in a full-fledged manner, he said.

On the other hand, the state government had provided 2,912 acres of valuable land and released Rs 132 crore for land acquisition and construction of compound walls for the 11 educational institutions.

Ganta explained that five institutions have been functioning from temporary campuses since 2015-16, two institutions have been functioning at temporary campuses since 2016-17 and another two from 2018-19 in temporary campuses. 

This apart, the Central government has not yet begun work for setting up tribal university.

He took strong exception to Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar's statement that the Central government did more than what was promised to the state. 

“Javadekar, during the inauguration of the Central University at Anantapur, made tall claims on the assistance given to AP and implementation of the Reorganisation Act.  

But, he was silent on his demand for a white paper  on it,” Ganta said.

The Central government released just 3.14 per cent of the estimated Rs 3,125 crore to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Tirupati.

It gave just 13 per cent of the project cost out of the estimated Rs 460 crore for the establishment of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tadepalligudem.

The Union government gave 4.1 per cent of the estimated Rs 1,376 crore for the construction of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Visakhapatnam, so far during the last four years.

For the construction of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati, the government of India released only 5.15 per cent out of the estimated Rs 2,117 crore. 

To fund the Central University, the Government of India allocated just Rs 10 crore in the Budget 2018-19, which would cost more than Rs 1100 crore.

The Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPM) (Petroleum University) at Visakhapatnam is another neglected institution by the Central government. 

It was estimated that Rs 655 crore needed for the construction of this university. 

But the Central government had released only 5 per cent of the total expenditure, so far.

For the establishment of Agriculture University at Lam in Guntur district, the Central government released only 9 per cent of the total expenditure. It would cost more than Rs 1,505 crore.

The Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IITDM), Kurnool is another neglected one. 

The Centre released just 6 per cent of the expenditure, so far. It would cost more than Rs 297 crore. Pathetically, it is being operated from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu till 2017-18, and from this academic year onwards, they have shifted it to Kurnool.

For the construction of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri, the Central government released only 14 per cent of the amount. Bu the institute would cost more than Rs 1618 crore. 

All these institutions have been operating partially at private places.

But the Central government did not even start the construction of Tribal University. 

It was estimated to cost Rs 420 crore. The state government has allotted 526 acres of land and released Rs 5 crore for its construction.