By Najiya O., TwoCircles.net
Cochi: State government is thinking of appointing a special officer to accelerate the procedures of setting up the off-campus centre of the Aligarh Muslim University in Malappuram district, said Mr. MA Baby, Minister of Education, in the Assembly. He added that the cabinet has decided to acquire 397 acres of land via fast track facility.
Mr. Baby said that the Revenue Department has formed an acquisition unit comprising of 40 officers. The government has entrusted the Director of College Education to fix a rate for the land consulting with the District Collector of Malappuram and to submit an application as per the New Service Procedure for allocation of funds. The government has informed the AMU of the measures taken by it with regard to the off-campus centre. The government has also assured the AMU that it would make a temporary arrangement of the Centre took measures to begin the campus soon.
The Minister also said that no cases regarding the land acquisition have come to the notice of the cabinet. However, the owners of the land at Perinthalmanna, which the government has chosen for the off-campus centre, have approached court against the government move to acquire the land.
The government had selected 251 acres of land in Panakkad for setting up the off-campus centre of the AMU. Later it was said that the land, of the Industries Department, had already been transferred to a public-private company, and so can’t be used for the AMU campus. But, it was stated last day in the Assembly by Mr. Elamaram Kareem, Industries Minister, that the land had not yet been transferred to any agency.
The government has now chosen about 400 acres of land at Perinthalmanna for the purpose. An office was inaugurated this month for the land acquisition process, but sufficient officials were not appointed.