Centre seeks to bifurcate J&K Central University

Passing of this bill by Paliament will replace the Central Universities (Amendment) Ordinance,2009,promulgated by President Pratibha Patil on October 20 this year due to the urgency of the matter and because Parliament was not in session then.

As per the statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill,it was “felt necessary to establish two separate Central Universities,one each in Jammu region and in the Kashmir Valley,for maintaining regional harmony in the state.” Accordingly,it was decided to rename the the Central University of Jammu and Kashmir as Central University of Kashmir and to establish a new Central University by the name of Central University of Jammu by appropriate amendments to the Central Universities Act,2009.

The Central University of Kashmir would have territorial jurisdiction over the Kashmir Division of the state,while the Central University of Jammu would cover the Jammu Division.

All assets of the Central University of Jammu and Kashmir in Jammu Division would be transferred to the Central University of Jammu.

The actions taken by the Central University of Jammu and Kashmir for Jammu Division would be deemed to have been taken by the Central University of Jammu.

Similarly,all suit or legal proceedings instituted or continued by or against the Central University of Jammu and Kashmir in respect of the territory of Jammu Division would be considered as those of Central University of Jammu.

The government estimated that Rs 240 crore would be required to meet the non-recurring and recurring expenditure of the two universities from financial years 2009-10 to 2011-12 and would be met through the HRD Ministry budgetary provisions.