OUAT Bill passed

The Assembly on Monday passed a Bill amending the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology Act, 1965. The amendment enables OUAT to accord affiliation to institutions in the private sector for imparting education in agriculture, veterinary, fisheries, forestry and allied sciences.

Allaying fears of the Opposition members that private players keen to establish professional educational institutions under OUAT are only interested in getting� Government land free of cost, Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy assured the Assembly that the interests of the State would be first and foremost while framing rules under the Act.

�While students are keen to take admission in the constituent colleges of OUAT, the existing intake capacity is limited. The university has received about 12,000 applications for admission into various courses while the total number of seats available in the colleges of agriculture, agricultural engineering, fisheries, veterinary science and home science is 608.

Many private organisations have evinced interest to set up institutions to provide quality education in agriculture and allied sciences. This will benefit the State which is based on agrarian economy, the minister added.

While leader of the Opposition sought to know from the Minister if any other Agriculture University of the country has such a provision to affiliate private institutions, the latter said that Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh had taken the lead.

Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan who had demanded on Sunday that either the Bill be referred to a select committee or full- fledged Bill brought in the next session of the Assembly expressed apprehensions over the amendment of the OUAT Act. There are a lot of discrepancies in the original Act and its amended version, he said.