|
Malegaon: Amid political fight over
the location of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) sub centre in
Maharashtra, a delegation from Malegaon called on Chairman of
National Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah and Planning
Commission Member in-charge of Education Narendra Jadhav on
December 27 in New Delhi and sought their support for the
establishment of the coveted campus by the premium central
university in Malegaon.
“A case which was clearly in our favour has been deliberately
politicized. Hence we are meeting different people to garner
support. On Dec 5 we had met Ashish Singh, the Personal Secretary
of the Chief Minister. Our meeting with Wajahat Habibullah and
Narendra Jadhav in New Delhi was part of this campaign”, Aleem
Faizee, President of Nobel Education & Welfare Society (NEWS) who led the
delegation to New Delhi informed ummid.com.
“In fact, going through the documents both of them were surprised
on why the state government is keeping the matter pending. They
promised to talk to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan so that a
decision is taken soon”, he added.
Noble Education & Welfare Society (NEWS) is working since 2009
with the support from the district administration especially
District Collector P Velrasu to establish the AMU sub centre near
Malegaon. The administration realising the importance of the
project proposed two locations in Malegaon Taluka – one at Rampura
and the other near Manmad for the purpose. After the state
government’s approval, both of these locations were visited by a
high level AMU team on October 26, 2011.
It is also to be noted that
Malegaon's proposal for land has already been approved by the
Higher & Technical Education and Revenue departments of Govt. of
Maharashtra before being sent to the AMU VC.
The matter, however, turned into a political tug-of-war with the
entry of Minority Development Minister Arif Naseem Khan and his
deputy Mrs Fauzia Khan, who after realising that Nasik MP Sameer
Bhujbal is actively working for the project, all of a sudden
proposed a land at Khuldabad near Aurangabad for the AMU
sub-centre.
“It was ironic to see that Arif Naseem Khan despite being a
minister, who should care for the entire state, openly opposed
Malegaon that too without any concrete reason”, said Aleem Faizee.
Interestingly, the documents show that NEWS members met Arif
Naseem Khan and Mrs Fauzia Khan on November 23, 2009 with a
request to do something for establishment of the AMU centre in
Maharashtra. However they never showed any interest.
“It was only after Malegaon’s proposal reached Mantralaya in
August 2010 that Arif Naseem Khan called a meeting of district
collectors and directed them to identify land for the purpose. But
in the review meeting called on January 24, 2011 all of them,
except Malegaon ADC Yeshwant Sonawane, clearly stated that they
didn’t have any land in their districts”, Aleem Faizee said.
“After failing to get the land at any other place, Higher &
Technical Education Department in April 2011 finally sent
Malegaon’s proposal to the AMU VC for his approval. When this news
became public, Mrs. Fauzia Khan called the AMU Vice Chancellor and
proposed the Khuldabad land instead”, he added.
Highly placed sources at Mantralay informed ummid.com that the final
decision on the location, whether it is Malegaon or Khuldabad, now
lies with the Chief Minister. But, political observers feel, the
way Arif Nseem Khan and Mrs. Fauzia Khan are pushing the Khuldabad
location, it would be a taste of the might of the Bhujbals in the
state politics as to how they fight their case so that the
district they have chosen as base does not miss this important
project.
Timeline
December 08, 2008: AMU VC requests the Maharashtra govt to provide
land to establish its sub-centre in the state.
November 23, 2009: NEWS delegation meets Arif Naseem Khan and Mrs
Fauzia Khan requesting them to do something on the matter.
December 30, 2009: NEWS writes then Chief Minister Ashok Chavan
and Chief Secretary informing them about the availability of land
near Malegaon.
June 24, 2010: Maharashtra govt writes to Nashik collector to
provide details of the available land.
August 07, 2010: Malegaon submits the land proposal stating that
350 acres of land can be made available at Rampura.
October 27, 2010: Arif Naseem Khan calls a meeting of 35 District
Collectors of the state and directed them to identify the land.
January 24, 2011: In review meeting, all the collectors except
Malegaon ADC, say they don’t have land in their district.
April 26, 2011: Mrs Thekkekara, Principal Secretary Minority
Department, calls another review meeting. No proposal from any
other place except Malegaon.
April 2011: Higher & Technical Education Department forwards
Malegaon’s proposal to the AMU VC for his approval.
September 10, 2011: Nasik MP Sameer Bhujbal writes to AMU VC
requesting him to visit and inspect the proposed land.
September 18-24, 2011: Around 1200 girl students send postcards to
the AMU VC requesting him to approve the Malegaon’s proposal.
October 26, 2011: AMU VC visits Malegaon to inspect the proposed
sites.
November 06, 2011: NEWS delegation meets Chief Minister with
Sameer Bhujbal at Ozar airport.
December 05, 2011: NEWS delegation meets Ashish Singh, the PS to
the Chief Minister to apprise him of all the details.
December 27, 2011: NEWS delegation meets Wajahat Habibullah and
Narendra Jadhav in New Delhi.
|
Comments
|
Quick links