VIJAYAWADA: The Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh (CTUAP), which was proposed to be set up at Relli village in Kothavalasa Mandal of Vizianagaram district, would be set up Araku of Visakhapatnam district.
The decision was taken by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy at a review meeting on Education department held on Thursday.
The Union HRD department has sanctioned Tribal University to Andhra Pradesh as per the 13th schedule of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
The State government had allotted 526 acres of land in Relli village for setting up the tribal university. Andhra University has been playing the role of the mentor for setting up the CTUAP. Land for setting up the Tribal university in Araku is yet to be identified.
Speaking to TNIE, S Varadarajan, Secretary to APSCHE, said, “The previous government has selected Relli village to set up the Tribal University. Since it is located in a remote area, the Chief Minister decided to relocate it to Araku, where a large number of Tribals stay. The land is likely to be identified by the Chief Minister during his upcoming visit to North Andhra.”
As of now, with Rs 5 lakh, a compound wall is being constructed in the land allotted in Relli village. In the Union Budget 2018-19, Rs 10 crore was allotted for the university and later MHRD Department sanctioned Rs 420 crore. However, the funds were not used as the University didn’t start operations. Even the State government released Rs 50 lakh as start-up grant to begin admission process.
“We have submitted a detailed project report to Union MHRD department seeking Rs 952 crore for infrastructure development. Though they have allocated Rs 420 crore in 2018, we couldn’t use it. This year, we are taking admissions for four PG courses (100 seats) and four diploma courses (120 seats) in the transit campus. We are requesting the government to sanction Rs 1 crore to start the classes,” G Nageswar Rao, Vice-Chancellor Tribal University, told TNIE.
Praveenya Institute of Marine Engineering & Maritime Studies of Vizianagaram district has been allocated as the transit campus for the Tribal University to begin academic activities in 2019-20. The admissions will start from July 1 and the classes are likely to commence from July 10.