The Centre on Thursday rejected Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's allegation that Bihar was being discriminated against on the issue of the setting up of a Central university at Motihari in the State.
Sources in the Ministry of Human Resource Department said the Centre was not in favour of setting up the institution at Motihari since it was a backward region without proper connectivity, adequate schools and other facilities to attract the best faculty.
The Ministry wanted the Central universities to emerge as centres of excellence and by locating them in places where adequate physical and social infrastructure would not be available leading to the inability to attract a quality faculty, the purpose would stand defeated.
Consequently, the Human Resource Department Ministry approached the Defence Ministry to identify a defence land near an urban agglomeration that could be spared for the University and it has, in turn, identified a piece of land at Panchanpur near Gaya.
The land was close to the Gaya international airport and has been inspected and recommended by a site selection committee as being suitable for the university.
The Ministry, the sources said, respected the concern of the Chief Minister for development of educational facilities in backward areas and recognised the steps taken by him to improve enrolment at the elementary school level.
The Centre was fully prepared to provide assistance to the State government to establish a State university in Motihari and help him fulfil his promise to the people in the area.
Asked about Mr. Kumar's complaint that the Centre was against setting up the university in a backward region only when it came to Bihar, he acknowledged that such a thing had happened in several other States and said the Centre wanted to ensure mistakes committed in the past were not repeated in Bihar.
