Kishanganj, Dec. 30: The state government today signed a land transfer agreement with Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), clearing the decks for setting up a special centre of the varsity here.
District magistrate Sandeep Kumar R. Pudakalkatti and AMU vice-chancellor P.K. Abdul Aziz inked the pact for the construction of the facility on a plot of 224.02 acres sprawling over in the Mauza Chakala and Gobindpur villages under Kishanganj circle. The deal was sealed in the presence of energy minister and in-charge of Kishanganj district Vijendra Prasad Yadav, principal secretary of human resource department Anjani Kumar Singh and Purnea divisional commissioner Brajesh Mehrotra. Besides Aziz, AMU registrar V.K. Abdul Jalil, dean of faculty of management studies and research Javed Akhtar, finance officer Yasmin Jalal Beg, media advisor NAK Durani and principal of Zakir Hussain College of Engineering (under AMU) Ikram Hussein were also present.
Signing the deal, Pudakalkatti told The Telegraph: “Now the onus of preparing the detailed project report and detailed finance report is on the expert committee of AMU. The detailed project report has to be tabled before the Union HRD ministry. The detailed finance report will go to the Union finance ministry. AMU will also have to take the President’s nod before launching the academic session in July 2012.”
Aziz said: “The ball is in my court now and I will soon send the required files to the President for her nod. We hope to start some courses by July next year.”
The vice-chancellor also thanked chief minister Nitish Kumar for making the land available to AMU authorities for opening the centre and said the AMU Centre would be made functional if the state government makes available a rented building for the purpose till the construction is complete.
The varsity had demanded a single contiguous land from the state government for its special centre. The state government was offering segmented lands, clashing with the varsity’s requirements.
In October, around one lakh demonstrators had pushed for an extended unit of the varsity under the banner of Kishanganj Education Movement.
