The Central University of Andhra Pradesh(CUAP), which is short of permanent staff and yet to see a building of its own, got a meager allocation in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala SItharaman on Tuesday.
The university has been allocated ₹56.66 crore in the current Budget against a requirement of close to ₹1,500 crore for building its own campus on a 491-acre land given by the State government two years ago.
Out of the ₹60.35 crore allocated in the last year’s Budget, only ₹20.11 crore was spent as per the revised allocation. In the 2020 budget, the university got just ₹4.85 crore which was just enough for its maintenance and staff salaries.
Even if the entire amount now allocated in the Union Budget for the CUAP is given, it would suffice only for paying salaries for the faculty, while all the 700 students will have to continue attending classes in a rented building. Moreover, there is no hostel building for girls and boys, said Students Federation of India leader Sk. Basha.
The university had given a notification in November last year for the recruitment of permanent faculty, but the process has not yet been completed. The university has 63 permanent staff members sanctioned, but at present there are only 13 of them. Hindupur Lok Sabha member Gorantla Madhav told The Hindu that he would raise the issue of funds allocation for the CUAP during the discussion on the Budget till February 12. The only take-away for the State is a promise to fund the Godavari-Krishna-Penna-Cauvery river link project. The State government had on its own funded the Godavari-Krishna link and the Centre should reimburse that amount and release funds for completing the project, he added.
