Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network
Imphal, August 29 2009:
Expressing extreme unhappiness and dissatisfaction over the arbitrary decision of the government of Manipur in finalizing the site for the establishment of the proposed regional centre of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU), the Manipur University Tribal Students' Union (MUTSU) has said that it should be set up at any one of the sites already surveyed by concerned committees in the larger interest of the younger generations and not on the whims of some 'selfish' MLAs who do not bother about the value of higher education and future of the tribals.
The preliminary survey for a site for the establishment of IGNTU in Manipur was done jointly by All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur (ATSUM) and MUTSU, and they had suggested 7 possible sites ideal for its establishment during the month of November 2008, stated a press release of MUTSU on Saturday, MUTSU said.
Then the state government constituted its own 5-member search committee on March 30, 2009 and, based on the suggestion of the students' bodies, the committee had visited all the places before finally short-listing 5 sites for the purpose of construction of the IGNTU, informed MUTSU president Pamei Tingenlung and its general secretary Seiminthang Haokip.
But as there was no consensual decision at the cabinet meeting held to finalize the site for construction of the IGNTU, the matter was referred to the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) for finalization of a suitable site, the MUTSU leaders stated.
Accordingly, the HAC had recommended to the cabinet only two sites - Tulibari, Sadar Hills, Senapati district and Mahadeva Area, Ukhrul district - in its meeting held on July 30, 2009, but contrary to the wishes of the students and the HAC, the government came up with its own arbitrary decision to set up the IGNTU at the present site (on the north western side of Makhan village in Senapati district) which was never included among the sites proposed by the successive search committees, claimed MUTSU leaders.
Asserting that the present site is not at all a favorable place for the establishment of the proposed IGNTU as tribals are purely minority and there is no trace of any tribal inhabited village in a total stretch of about 20 km along the National Highway 39 towards the proposed site, MUTSU declared that it totally violates the IGNTU Act 2007 which states that 'the site of the University should be located in between the population predominantly inhabited by the tribal community'.