Minister for HRD Ganta Srinivasa Rao on Sunday demanded the NDA government to release a white paper on the funds released to the proposed Central academic and research institutes.
After participating in the inaugural session of the Central University of Andhra Pradesh in the JNTUA premises, he alleged that Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had made false statements on the Centrally sponsored institutes in Andhra Pradesh. He said the Centre should clarify the status on the establishment of seven Central institutions, and another 17 institutes belonging to various departments.
“Though the Centre has to start IIM, NIT, IIT, ISR, IIIT, Central University, Girijan University, they are yet to see even minimal kick-start operations. In 2015, the then Central Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Ms. Smrithi Irani had laid the foundation stone for the IIM in Vishakapatnam. The State government had arranged the compound wall and provision for drinking water but even after four years, not a single brick was laid there. In Tirupati, the IIT, the ISR and the IIIT saw the stone laying ceremony in a single day. The State government had allocated 3,508 acres for them and cleared compensation of ₹607 crore for land acquisition. But the Centre had not provided even 10% of the funds. Now, Mr Javedkar was trying to throw people of AP into confusion by telling lies. The White Paper would bring out the truth,” he said. The Minister said the seven Central institutions had no permanent structures and many were run in private colleges, he said.