Govt's refusal to start college challenged in HC

 The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court recently issued notices to the chief secretary and the secretary, higher education, following a petition challenging a government order rejecting a proposal to start an Arts college in remote Islapur in Kinwant taluka in Nanded district.

The Bharat Jodo Yuva Academy, engaged in social work in tribal areas, had submitted a proposal to the Swami Ramanad Teerth Marathwada University (SRTMU), Nanded, to start Sane Guruji Arts College at Islapur from the academic year 2009-2010.

"Since it was as per the university's perspective plan, the SRTMU forwarded the proposal to the state government with a positive remark, but the government, using its discretionary powers under Section 82 of the Maharashtra University Act, 1994, rejected the proposal," said Vishnu Dhobale, lawyer for the petitioner.

Petitioner Ashok Belkhode, who is also the president of the academy, alleged in the petition that the government had sanctioned 199 colleges in 2009-10. Of them, 67 colleges were sanctioned directly by the government. Interestingly, the 67 colleges had no recommendations from the universities concerned and were not part of the perspective plan of the respective universities.

The petitioner further claimed that the government had sanctioned 11 colleges under the SRTMU without the perspective plan and recommendation of the university. Of them, seven colleges were sanctioned without perspective plan, while three proposals were rejected by the SRTMU for lack of infrastructure. Still, the government granted permission to certain educational institutions to start the degree colleges from the academic year 2009-10.

Seeking to quash the government order rejecting the proposal, the petitioner also claimed that the government has not maintained transparency and selective institutes, having political influence have been granted permission to start colleges. He contended that the government's action came to light from the records he had obtained by using the Right to Information Act from various universities.

Colleges sanctioned in similar fashion under other universities include Mumbai University (11), Kolhapur University (11), Solapur University (10), Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, (9), University of Pune (7), Nagpur University (7) and North Maharashtra University (1).