Govt Directs Utkal University In Bhubaneswar To Refrain From Seeking Fund From Any Source; Know Why

Bhubaneswar: The state government has rejected the proposal of Utkal University, here for financial support from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and refrained it from seeking such assistance from anybody.

In a letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the university, principal secretary, Higher Education department Saswat Mishra said Utkal University regularly gets fund from the state government for various purposes. In fact, it has available funds of more than Rs 500 crore at present. A big portion of this available fund is meant for infrastructure development of the university.

Despite this, the university has proposed to OMC for one-time financial support of Rs 10 crore and annual financial support of Rs 2 crore for 10 years to develop its Geology Department. Responding to this proposal, OMC wanted to know whether any fund in this regard is being considered by the Higher Education department so as to avoid duplication and advised the university to obtain clearance of the department.

Mishra said, “The intended development of Geology Department can be easily taken up by the university from the fund lying with it unspent.”

Stating that the proposal of Utkal University seeking financial support from OMC cannot be accepted now, the special secretary said there is no need for the university to seek external financial support, either from OMC or from anybody else.