Tribal University: Stale promise from the freezer after 10 years

The proposal for the Central Tribal University was initially made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, during the formation of Telangana State.

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a Central Tribal University at Mulugu, which is in fact a stale promise dished out on a new platter, after keeping it in deep freezer for nearly 10 years.

The proposal for the Central Tribal University was initially made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, during the formation of Telangana State.

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However, it remained nothing more than a promise, despite repeated requests and allocation of land by the State government, i.e., till Modi was forced to take desperate measures to prevent the BJP from being completely wiped out in Telangana.

While Sunday’s announcement is certainly a victory for Telangana and the BRS in particular for not giving up and for continuously pressurising the Centre, what exposes Modi’s political agenda is that Telangana is being promised a Central Tribal University, when the neighboring Andhra Pradesh was helped in getting one operational from August 2020 itself.

This was after the Telangana government had allotted 116 acres of assigned land, 50 acres of forest land, and 169 acres of government land for the establishment of the University at Mulugu. Further, the State government also identified a suitable building for launching the university operations.

Despite more than nine and a half years since the formation of Telangana, the Centre, which granted permission for the university, was yet to initiate any related work. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014 pledged the establishment of the Tribal University in the State, but this promise has languished in procrastination.

During his visits to Delhi on several occasions, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had repeatedly implored Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite the work on the Tribal University as promised in the Reorganisation Act. But there was no response from the union government.

After repeated appeals, union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Parliament earlier this year that the Site Selection Committee had settled on a location in Mulugu, and a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared. However, specific details and progress on the matter remain scant, with the Centre having submitted the proposal for the university’s establishment to the Department of Expenditure in February this year.

That Modi’s promise comes after the State had managed with grit and determination to the get Reorganisation Act promise reach a DPR stage exposes his attempt at political mileage and at the same time, raises the question whether this promise will mean that the university will finally get moving or still remain on paper.