The town might lose the opportunity to house the Central Agricultural University, thanks to the inept handling of the issue by the State government, former Member of Parliament Y. Sivaji has said.
The Union government had promised that a Central Agricultural University would be set up with grants under the 12th and 13th Planning Commission under the A.P Reorganization Act-2014, Dr. Sivaji said and called for urgent intervention of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the issue. The allocation of a central Agricultural University found mention in the budget speech made by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The Centre had promised agricultural universities to Andhra Pradesh and Rajastan and a Horticultural University to Telangana and Haryana. The former MP also called up Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao on Tuesday and sought his help in facilitating a meeting with Secretary of Agriculture Bahuguna who was in Hyderabad at present.
Mr. Sivaji further said that some forces were trying to scuttle plans to establish a Central University on the premises of Regional Agricultural Research Station at Lam Farm and in turn were advocating the establishment of a State University.
“We may well lose the opportunity to have a Central Agricultural University, the first of-its-kind in South India. Location of a Central University would give boost to research, bringing eminent agricultural planners like M.S Swaminathan here and facilitate interaction between scientists and farmers,’’ he said.
