Dharamshala MLA seeks Centre’s intervention for Central varsity campus construction

Seeking Centre’s intervention, Dharamshala MLA Sudhir Sharma who met Union minister JP Nadda on Wednesday in New Delhi, urged for the expedition in construction of Central University campus at Jadrangal near Dharamshala.

The state government has yet to deposit the required funds for the land transfer necessary for constructing the said campus. Having been embroiled in political tangles, there is a growing concern in Kangra about a permanent campus for the varsity that was among 16 such institutions set up under the Central Universities Act, 2009.

Sudhir Sharma said that the state government is lingering the matter. “I had a courtesy meeting with National President (BJP) and Union minister Jagat Prakash Nadda ji at the BJP office in New Delhi. I personally sought the intervention of the central government to expedite the construction of Central University at Jadrangal in Dharamshala,” he wrote on X.

He further said, “I also requested to take cognizance of the use of funds coming from the Centre under various heads by the state finance department at other places.

Although the Union government, under its master plan, has allowed two campuses of Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), one at Dehra and second at Jadrangal near Dharamshala, both in Kangra district. The construction in Dehra is underway, meanwhile, in Jadrangal it is yet to start.

After the identification of land, followed by several inspections, 57 hectares of forest land at Jadrangal were cleared by the Union environment ministry for the campus in 2023, for which the state government had to deposit ₹30 crore as compensatory afforestation (CA). Sudhir Sharma said that the amount has now been brought down to ₹15 crore but the state government is not depositing it.

Only 24 hectares of non-forest land at Jadrangal has been transferred in the university’s name. At present, the university is run from rented spaces in Dharamshala, Shahpur and Dehra.