The second meeting between Punjab and Haryana, convened by the UT Administrator and Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, to discuss the issue of affiliating Haryana’s colleges with Panjab University, Chandigarh, lad to no conclusion on Monday with the Punjab maintaining an adamant stance against Haryana’s proposal. Another round of meeting will now be held on July 3.
Even as Purohit suggested that at least colleges in Haryana’s three districts of Panchkula, Ambala, and Yamunanagar, bordering Punjab, should be given an option of affiliation with the Panjab University, Mann categorically asserted, “Neither any college of Haryana will be given affiliation from the university nor will any attempt of Haryana for back door entry in the senate of university be allowed”.
Notably, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had proposed to affiliate the state’s colleges in three districts bordering Punjab with Panjab University, and it would help the varsity tide over its financial crisis by contributing up to 40 per cent of the total annual expenses needed to run the university.
Apart from the Governor and the Chief Ministers of the two states, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, Advisor to UT Administrator Dharam Pal, Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua, UT Home Secretary Nitin Yadav, Haryana Higher Education director Rajeev Rattan, and PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Renu Vig were also present in the meeting.
The first meeting between the two Chief Ministers to discuss the issue was held on June 1, presided over by Purohit, which remained inconclusive. The Governor has intervened after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during the northern zonal council meeting, had suggested that such issues should be resolved locally.
Mann, addressing the media after the meeting, said: “I categorically conveyed in the meeting that there is no scope for inclusion of Haryana in running of the Panjab University, as Punjab is self-sufficient to run the university, a symbol of Punjab’s culture, ethos, traditions and literature.”
“Panjab University is part of the emotional, cultural, literature and rich legacy of the state…We need no share of Haryana in the University, which is an apex educational institute of the region,” he said.
Bemoaning that regular attempts are being made to change the varsity’s status, Mann said that the Punjab Government “will not allow any such move in the larger interests of the students…175 colleges of the state are affiliated with this premier university due to which generations of Punjab are emotionally attached with it”.
The Chief Minister said that the University caters only to the state of Punjab and its capital Chandigarh.
Citing the history of the University, its constitution, its ethnic, socio-cultural and historical roots as well as its faculty and students who hail primarily from the state of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann said that it is important that the present legal and administrative status of the Panjab University should be preserved. “At the time of the reorganization of the State of Punjab in 1966, Panjab University was declared as an ‘Inter State Body Corporate’ under section 72(1) of the Punjab Reorganization Act 1966 enacted by the Parliament,” he added.
“As per Sub-section (4) of Section 72 of the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966, the maintenance deficit grants to the University were to be shared and paid by the states concerned, that is, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Prades,h and UT Administration of Chandigarh in the ratio of 20:20:20:40, respectively. However, in 1970, the then Chief Minister of Haryana Bansi Lal voluntarily pulled out his state’s share from the university; and in 1973, even the state called back its members of Senate from university,” pointed Mann.
He added that since then, the state of Punjab and UT Administration of Chandigarh have borne the financial responsibility of paying maintenance deficit grants to the University in the ratio of 40:60 respectively.
“Despite increased financial burden caused by withdrawal of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh; and the creation of new universities in the state, Punjab has continued to support Panjab University to ensure that the historical and emotional attachment of the people of Punjab with the University is maintained and preserved,” he said.
“Recently also, the State Government has given Rs 49 crore for construction of hostels to the university, even though no demand was made for it. Punjab government has left no stone unturned for the university’s holistic development in all possible manners,” he added.
Haryana’s Proposal to Bear Share of PU’s Grants is Unacceptable, Unwarranted: Mann
Declaring that every step will be taken to retain the university’s ‘Interstate Status’, Mann said that no one will be allowed to make any change to it. “The interests of the state are not saleable so anyone will offer money and purchase it. Haryana Government’s proposal to bear the share of grants in university is totally unacceptable and unwarranted too,” he added.
Mann further quoted a letter written by Haryana’s Additional Chief Secretary to the Vice Chancellors of all the universities of the state, stating that Haryana Government had through communiqué expressed its inability to give funds to universities. “In this letter, the Universities were asked to manage their own resources, whereas, on the other hand, Haryana is too eager to put a share in Panjab University which indicates some nefarious designs of the state. How can any state, which is not able to manage its own universities, fund a university of stature of Panjab University until and unless some higher agency was not funding it in a clandestine manner,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that after assuming the charge of office in March 2022, he had written two letters to the Union Ministers Amit Shah and Dharminder Pradhan asking them that the university is heritage of the state and any sort of change in it will not be tolerated.
“Punjab government is committed to safeguard the rights of the state and its people. Panjab University is a symbol of Punjab’s legacy and is synonymous with the name of the State,” he added.
Make Your Varsity Anywhere, But Won’t Be Allowed Any Share in PU: Mann To Khattar
Making it clear that the State Government is not against the people of Haryana, Mann pointed that it is also a well-known fact that 35 per cent students in PU are from Haryana. “Haryana is free to make its university anywhere but they will not be allowed any share in the Panjab University,” he said categorically.
‘SAD-led Govt Issued NoC for PU’s Central Status’
Also taking the Akali and Congress leaders to cudgels, Mann slammed them for backstabbing the state and its people. “The then Chief Minister late Parkash Singh Badal wrote a letter to erstwhile Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on August 26, 2008, seeking central status for Panjab University. Going beyond that, the Akali Dal government had issued NOC to the Centre for converting this premier institute into a central university,” he said. “On what grounds the Akali leaders are thumping their chest when everyone knows that they have worked overtime against the interests of the state and its people. Granting NOC for the central university was a treacherous move aimed at weakening Punjab’s claim over the university,” said Mann, adding that Akali Dal has no moral right to say even a single word on the issue.
PU’s Precarious Finances
In 1976, the Centre’s consultative committee had fixed the funding ratio between the Centre and Punjab Government at 60:40. In 2011, Punjab fixed its grant at Rs 20 crore, and since then, it is being increased marginally.
As per the budget for the 2023-24 academic session, the University Grants Commission (UGC) will pay Rs 294 crore grants to PU, while Punjab will pay Rs 38 crore. Arrears of Rs 200 crore are also pending.
UGC, in March, had stated that there is no possibility of any further increase in salary grant of PU at this stage.
Haryana Government, in the meeting, said that the varsity has been facing financial crisis for years. “Chandigarh has 60 percent share in the university and Punjab has 40 percent share. In the last 10 years, the university has received an average of Rs 200-300 crore per year from the Centre. While in the last 10 years, only Rs 20-21 crores have been received from Punjab on an average per year,” added the spokesperson.
Haryana Government’s spokesperson said that in 2020-21, an amount of Rs 39 crore was released by Punjab. Overall, the university gets only seven to 14 percent of the budget as against Punjab's share of 40 percent.
Also Affiliate Mohali, Ropar’s Colleges Along With Haryana’s 3 Districts: Khattar
In the meeting, Haryana Chief Minister said that in the interest of the students, the colleges of the state should be given the option of affiliation with Panjab University. Both the states will proceed in a friendly manner, he added. “Along with the colleges in three districts — Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar, colleges in Punjab’s Mohali and Rupnagar districts should also be given affiliation with Panjab University,” he added.
“Delhi University is building its campus in Haryana. Apart from this, the campus of IIT, Delhi is also coming up in the state. Expanding education and affiliation of the colleges will provide many new opportunities to students of Haryana,” he said.