‘I am interested in building infrastructure’
Hailing from Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh Tej Pratap, the current Vice Chancellor of SKUAST (K) has been in news ever since he took over the office four years ago. Decorated with paintings and khatamband, his office presents an overwhelming picture of grandeur and money while University’s satellite campuses at Wadura and Shuhama complain of inadequate facilities. Being a student of ecological sciences and an expert on Mountain Agriculture, Pratap was looked at as a useful resource for Kashmir when the varsity successfully cloned world’s first Pashmina goat Noori. In an exclusive interview to Rising Kashmir's Online Editor Daanish Bin Nabi, he talks about recent developments at SKUAST (K) and its satellite campuses. Excerpts:
• SKUAST is a multi campus
university
• Noori is in second stage.
It has to grow and give birth. Its baby is expected this year
• Rs 88 crores are for
infrastructural development at Wadura, Shuhama, Shalimar campuses
• Only name of Horticulture
is not in Shalimar rest everything of Horticulture is in Shalimar itself
• Germ Plasma is located
safely at CITH
·
There was a controversy
when you were posted as VC Palampur University?
The whole genesis to this problem was political in nature.
Palampur University is very inactive in politics but some political parties
tried to politicize the atmosphere by interfering with students. Both BJP and
Congress kept on trying in politicizing the varsity. Then it was ABVP party
which created all the fuss. I must thank students of Palampur and its faculty
who stood by me in those difficult times. Palampur student still is solidly
academician but not political.
·
Noori – the goat clone
achieved SKUAST (K) a widespread acclaim. What progress is underway in creating
new clones, as promised by the scientists?
Noori gave SKUAST (K) a confidence that we can do international
research. Noori is cutting edge research were we can have an international
credibility. Presently, Noori is in second stage. It has to grow and give
birth. Its baby is expected this year. Noori’s generation will be pure breed.
We should be able to multiple the Noori breed for which we need financial
support. Noori was totally funded by Indian Council for Agriculture (ICR), it
was in National Innovation Agricultures Project. A team of our scientists and
ICR research scientists based in National Development Research Institute in
Karnal worked on Noori.
·
One of a senior research
fellow in Pollination management Department has discovered 31 new species of
Caddish flies which came in news recently. What is the university doing to
encourage young talent like him and others?
Pollination is another research program which remains largely
neglected. Pollination research was my brainchild. This has been advocated by
me nationally and on domestic levels as well. We have pollination program on
which scientists are working. We unfortunately think that only it is the honey
bee which pollinates. There are other insects as well who pollinates. We are at
a stage where we need to develop our results. This research program only
started one and half years ago we need to take up all kinds of pollinators. We
are doing our best to make this research possible as well.
·
Is Germ Plasma for
delicious orchid, peach, plump preserved?
Yes. It is located safely at Central Institute for Temperate
Horticulture CITH, Srinagar. They have the mandate to preserve it.
·
Why have you shifted
Forestry Faculty to Watlar Ganderbal?
The Faculty of Forestry is in Wadura till infrastructure at
Ganderbal gets completed. It will not be shifted. We have not shifted it yet,
we have to build the infrastructure first. The Faculty of Forestry will remain
at Wadura until we have full facilities for them to move to Ganderbal. Normally
universities are unicampus, but the SKUAST is a multi campus university. I had
proposed it to be a one campus. It is the council who advised me to have five
campuses. It is for government to decide whether to go with five or three
campuses.
·
Why there is increase in
self-financed seat while as Entrance seat are lesser in number?
We follow a proper procedure before we fill up these financed
seats. Firstly, we take exams for all students and then we go by merit. It is
percentage of every class which we take into consideration before we take up
these finance seats. So it keeps on changing. Self financing only comes out of
a merit depending how many seats are pending after the open merit seat gets
full. For Example, if we take 50 seats than we keep less than 10 seats for self
financing. It is always on percentage basis. Less than 25% seats go for
reserves and self financed seats quota.
·
Recently there was fire at
Wadura hostel. Has construction started there?
It was day time at approximately 11 a.m. Incidentally, when the
fire started I myself was there. It was in December 2013, and exams were going
on and luckily hostel was empty then. Fire started from a hostel room and no
one was inside. We had renovated the building and because of this renovation some
problem occurred in wiring and it suddenly caught fire. An enquiry was
commissioned and we found that the fire occurred because of the short-circuit.
This is the only hostel building were we have done emergency work in renovating
the whole building. It will be operational in next two months. This is the only
place where we worked during the winter as well.
·
In 2010 you were provided
with Rs 100 crores. Do you take advice from your financial advisor on spending
it?
These funds were provided by ICR. These funds are only to build
the capacity of University. It is given on need basis. We had presented
proposal projects to ICR for the allocation of money. Rs 88 crores are ment for
infrastructural development at Wadura, Shuhama, Shalimar and does not include Ganderbal
and Ringil campuses. For these two campuses government has to provide funds. A
part of these funds is also for research station like Ladakh as well.
Approximately, 22 crores are for Ladakh. All these funds are under tight nose
of Principal Secretary and he supervises the spending of these funding. On the
other hand, ICR is always on our head about the spending. They have checks and
balances as well. Let me say, money is not given to us directly. We have to
spend time on making proposal first then only when it gets approved their team
comes and check themselves. First there is an over sight committee who looks
into it as well. ICR have Director of Finance, a separate Director for
constructions and then only projects are implemented with the help of our
staff. This all is managed in a very tight rope way.
·
Why did you shift
Horticulture to Shalimar campus?
People have this notion that I shifted horticulture to Shalimar.
Let me say it is already here in Shalimar. It is only that we have given name
to it. Otherwise, horticulture was here only but the name was not given to it.
The faculty that existed here was known as PGS-Post Graduate Studies. When we
created the PGS, which means all MSc and PhD, so in a way Wadura was teaching
Agriculture BSC and Horticulture BSC with no complete faculty. Let me explain
this, in 2010, since it is a multi campus university we proposed that for
example Veterinary student studying MSc in Shuhama and MSc student of Rangil
and Ganderbal have to come for other works to Shalimar. For easing the burden
of students we came up with the idea of reorganization and to develop faculty
independently. So, when BSc of Horticulture was done in Wadura, students had to
come for MSc and PhD of Horticulture to Shalimar. In the same manner students
who have done their MSc and PhD in Agriculture here should logically be shifted
to Wadura. As I said, we are trying to create five autonomous campuses where we
have BSc, MSc and PhD all in one campus for every separate faculty. We have
made the infrastructure for MSc and PhD for Faculty of Agriculture in Wadura it
will be shifted sooner. Wadura is presently teaching Horticulture with only
five to seven teachers while as we have 40 teachers here at Shalimar. MSc and
all other laboratories for the faulty of Horticulture are all here as well.
Only name of Horticulture is not in Shalimar rest everything of Horticulture is
in Shalimar itself.
·
There is ample land
available at Wadura but there is no development taking place for agricultural
purposes there? What measures have you taken?
Actually, we have constructed more buildings in Wadura. As I said,
I am very much interested in infrastructure I am doing my best to provide best
infrastructure to that campus as well. Let me say Wadura is coming up as one of
the best campuses of all. We are making auditorium and administrative and
lecture building there as well. I think only pending issue now there is hostel
and construction is on for hostels as well. Wadura will actually have access
facilities and it will come up as one of the best equipped campuses.
·
But the reports suggest
totally against what you are saying. Students are facing day to day problem
unabated like of hostel and washrooms?
I agree with you, but we are working on to provide best facilities
to Wadura campus. I know till date it has not been given a proper attention. I
am working on it. This is a governance problem. And I am in constant touch with
Dean as well. I must accept this as well. We have hostel problem in every
campus we are over burdened with hostel problem. You can see Shuhama, we have
every facility there as well.
·
But it is alleged that
Shuhama campus has no bus service with no canteen, hostel and no development on
constructing laboratories as well?
If Shuhama campus has all these grievances then I don’t agree
because the hostel construction there is complete. Students, both boys and
girls, have shifted in new hostel. Shuhama is the number one well equipped
hostel facilities of all campuses. Canteen is also coming up at Shuhama. If we
have a look at Shuhama three months before yes there were problems but now we
have sorted them out. One has to understand we have to stop working for
winters. In December work stops and starts in April only.
·
It’s alleged that only only
some scientists go on foreign trips that have already gone previously. Why
don’t you provide chance for young budding professors?
Foreign trips are not based on my choice. It is about the
involvement of the scientist for a particular research. Scientists who have
their own projects like NAIP only can go for foreign trips. These are open
competitive projects funded by ICR.
·
It is also alleged that you
have made Wadura campus a Kala Pani for professors to whom you want to punish?
You have also suspended the bus service for the campus on pretext of
maintenance?
Wadura is no Kala Pani. Actually, some Professors do not want to
give their duties at Wadura. It is these same professors who have created fuss
over transfer of Faculty of Agriculture as well. When the whole faculty gets
shifted there they too have to go there. This being the reason they have
created the fuss. As far as buses are concerned we have provided new buses to
Wadura campus. We have given busses to Shuhama as well. It is a false
allegation that I have stopped bus service to Wadura. Under special grant they
don’t provide buses but we fought for them in Delhi and argued that Kashmir is
a different case all together and got buses for them. We got every type of bus
and I have distributed them in all campuses.
·
In Shuhama and Wadura
campus there are lack of Journals and reading material?
I must accept it that there is shortage of reading material at
different campuses but we have made reading material available online for
students. We have online journal as well now. And for main campus that is
Shalimar we have made WIFI our top priority. And soon, we will have the
campuses internally connected as well. All the new buildings which are coming
up we have made provision that internet facility should be provided in these
buildings. I must say that we are very well equipped with reading material. We
are trying to make broadband facility at Wadura as well.
