Second ordinance on medical varsity in Nashik sought

MUMBAI, Aug 13: A red-faced ruling alliance government in the State will request the Governor to promulgate a second ordinance on the new...

MUMBAI, Aug 13: A red-faced ruling alliance government in the State will request the Governor to promulgate a second ordinance on the new Medical University at Nashik to avoid a constitutional crisis as the Legislature failed to pass the Medical and Health Sciences University Bill during the monsoon session, which concluded last week.

The Department of Medical Education has already initiated the process for promulgating the ordinance, which will have to be notified before the validity of the first one expires at the month-end.

The need to promulgate the first ordinance arose due the the insistence of state health minister Dr Daulatrao Aher that the university, his hard-fought pet project, be functional in May this year. The bill therefore could not be tabled in time as the monsoon session commenced only a month later and the budget session was over in March.

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However, despite its introduction during the monsoon session, the bill’s passage has been stalled till the winter session in December as theLegislative Council passed it only after referring it back to the Assembly with seven amendments.

However, it appears the vexed legislation will encounter stiff opposition from the 66-odd ruling party MLAs from Vidarbha, who have been demanding that the university be located in Nagpur ever since the proposal to set it up was announced.

Shiv Sena and BJP members in the Council too have demanded a shift in the university’s location from Nashik to Nagpur, with Sena MLC Vijay Vadettivar voicing criticism against the government on this score.

In fact, the institution’s location became a prestige issue for two lobbies, one in Nagpur and the other in Nashik, with the tussle acquiring political overtones. The Nagpur lobby has been supporting Social Welfare Minister Babanrao Gholap while the Nashik lobby is backing Dr Aher.

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Now, the tug-of-war will continue in the Assembly, which will take up the bill for consideration in December.

But the controversy does not end here. The clause installing the healthminister as the university’s ex-officio pro vice-chancellor was struck down by the Council despite Dr Aher’s claim that it was copied from the existing provisions of medical universities in three other states.

A sizeable section of MLAs and MLCs, however, opposed it, saying the health minister could misuse his position and affect the university’s functioning.

A senior official in the Department of Medical Education told The Indian Express that an ordinance would be issued soon and hence there is no uncertainty over the university, which has already begun functioning.

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"Once the bill is passed by the Assembly in December, it will not matter if the Council rejects it," the official explains.