Governor Phagu Chauhan has given his nod to all the eight Bills passed by the Bihar assembly during the monsoon session. Now they will be notified in the Bihar gazette as Acts.
Bihar governor Phagu Chauhan. (HT archive)
The Bills include Bihar Panchayati Raj (amendment) Bill, 2021, Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) (amendment) Bill, 2021, Bihar Appropriation Bill, 2021 and Bihar goods and services tax (amendment) Bill, 2021.
Four other bills relate to universities and are Aryabhatt Knowledge University (amendment) Bill, 2021; Bihar Health Sciences University Bill, 2021; Bihar Sports University Bill, 2021; and Bihar Engineering University Bill, 2021.
The three new universities, two of which have been carved out of the Aryabhatt Knowledge University (AKU), have the provision for the chief minister as the Chancellor, unlike earlier when the Governor was the chancellor of all the state universities.
With the Governor’s nod, decks may be cleared for the appointment of a vice-chancellor in AKU, which is now exclusively for new emerging fields like nano technology, stem cell, astronomy, environmental science and climate change, non-conventional energy, art & culture, philosophy, archaeology etc.
“There is no date fixed yet, but the process for different universities is at various stages and the appointments will be made soon,” Robert L Chongthu, secretary to the governor, said.
Arun Kumar is Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times. He has spent two-and-half decades covering Bihar, including politics, educational and social issues.