Chief Secretary reviews land acquisition for degree colleges; asks for removal of bottlenecks

SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, on Friday chaired a meeting to review the status of land acquisition for establishment of new Degree Colleges in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department, Secretary Revenue Department, Director Colleges and other concerned officers while Deputy Commissioner’s of Srinagar, Budgam, Kupwara, Anantnag, Samba, Udhampur, Ramban and Rajouri districts participated online.

The Chief Secretary directed the concerned officers to put in extra efforts to remove bottlenecks impeding establishment of new degree colleges in the UT. He also asked the concerned officers to explore options for acquiring additional land adjacent to some colleges, wherever required, for upgradation of college infrastructure there. He exhorted upon the officers to vigorously follow the court cases and other land related issues so that the institutions are established within the shortest possible time.

During the meeting, the Principal Secretary Higher Education highlighted all the land related issues impeding the progress on establishment of these colleges. The issues were discussed with the concerned officials and the modus operandi for their resolution was explored.

Giving status report of their respective districts, Deputy Commissioners informed the meeting that land for new degree colleges has been identified and the process for land transfer is in progress. They assured that no college would face any delay for want of transfer of land for its establishment or for upgradation and any college facing land related matters in the district will be looked into on priority basis.

During the meeting, threadbare discussion was also held on Private Universities Policy and various suggestions were put forth in this regard.