At Northern Zonal Council meeting, Amit Shah sides with Haryana on PU affiliation to colleges
Chairing the 31st Northern Zonal Council meeting in Amritsar, Amit Shah also advised both Punjab and Haryana to sit together and resolve the issue amicably
Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said Panjab University (PU) should grant affiliation to colleges in neighbouring Haryana districts, a proposal persistently rejected by the Punjab government.
Chairing the 31st Northern Zonal Council meeting in Amritsar, Shah also advised both Punjab and Haryana to sit together and resolve the issue amicably.
While bringing up the proposal during the meeting, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, “Our demand is in the interest of students’ welfare. Colleges in Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar should be given the option of affiliation with PU.”
He said, “Haryana colleges were previously affiliated with PU under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. However, it was terminated by a notification issued by the ministry of home affairs on November 1, 1973. Given this history, it is our belief that colleges in these three districts should be affiliated with PU once again.”
Outrightly rejecting the proposal, once again, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said, “The university has a deep connection with the people of Punjab, as after partition, it moved from Lahore to Hoshiarpur in Punjab and then to Chandigarh, our capital. The stand of the Punjab government is that there should be no change in the status of PU. It is our university, and we will continue to support and fund it in the future.”
Mann said Punjab had been the primary supporter and nurturer of this university for the last 50 years, while questioning why Haryana was now seeking this affiliation when its colleges had been affiliated with Kurukshetra University, an A+ NAAC accredited university, for the past 50 years.
He noted that Punjab had fully honoured its commitment to provide grant-in-aid to PU as per the revised formula finalised by the central government in 2017. He claimed that Punjab had released ₹261.96 crore until 2022-23, covering not only the deficit grant but also additional grant for the constituent colleges of PU, surpassing the due share of ₹188.31 crore.
He contended that while Punjab had fulfilled its commitment, the central government was yet to approve its share of the enhanced grant-in-aid of ₹51.89 crore to PU on account of adopting UGC scales.
Haryana for long has been offering to meet PU’s expenses in exchange for affiliation for its colleges in the districts of Panchkula, Ambala, and Yamunanagar.
Several meetings have been conducted on the matter under the chairmanship of UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit, but Punjab has maintained its stance against the proposal, claiming it is committed to providing financial support to the varsity.
