Move to shift Central University made two years

KASARGOD: It has now come to the limelight that the move to shift the Central University out of Kasargod district was made two years ago in a report of the site selection committee of the Central University in October 2009. Now, the medical institute attached to the CU is also being shifted out of the district. In the site selection committee report, a copy of which is in the possession of the ‘Express,’ jointly signed by Sunil Kumar, joint secretary of the Union government, Jancy James, Vice-Chancellor of the Central University, Renu Batra, joint secretary of the UGC, and Mohammed Basheer, joint secretary of the state government had suggested that the “members feel that in case the above proposition of  exchange of the land with the Plantation Corporation is not acceptable to the state government, it would be more appropriate that the site of Central University is moved out of Kasargod to any other more developed districts of the state.”

It was proposed to acquire the 500 acres of land in Peria possessed by the PCK to construct the CU complex. The proposal was to compensate the PCK by giving  other alternative revenue land owned by the government.

The letter also says that in case the state government is unable to provide 500 acres of land, the university may consider ‘vertical development’ and make do with 300 acres or so as the disadvantages of the current sites in Kasargod are more than offset by the reach of development and infrastructure.”

It is meant that if 500 acres in the district have not been provided by the government, the university may opt for multi-storey buildings for which only 300 acres are required. It also means that if the CU is to set up its campus it may require only 300 acres in a developed district.

The report also carries misleading facts that were not actual. For instance, the report says that on verification of site selection it was found that there was no health facility in Karinthalam since the nearest public health centre is located 30 kms away. The statement was thoroughly misleading since a PHC is located just 9 kms from the proposed site.

However, state government joint secretary M Mohammed Basheer noted in the letter that ‘the state government has suggested that any one of the three sites proposed by the state government at Karinthalam or Madikkai or Ambalathara may be selected.”

It was two years ago that Central University had started functioning in Kasargod. It is still functioning in a rented building in Nayanmarmoola and another off campus site is located on riverside in Padannakkad in Neeleswaram. No efforts  have so far been made to construct the university complex in the proposed site in Peria.

According to sources, the HRD had not made the proposal for examining the soil in Peria, the proposed site of the CU.

But soil testing was done at the instigation of some individuals who wanted to shift the university to Pathanamthitta.

Even though no  endosulfan residues were found in the soil in Peria, the medical institute is being  moved out citing the ‘endosulfan residues’.

Meanwhile, an all party action committee has been formed here to unleash strong agitation to retain the CU and the medical institute in the area.