Srinagar, July 12: In the line of fire from various quarters, authorities at the SK University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir Tuesday rolled back the memo on shifting the Faculty of Forestry from its Shalimar campus.
 The development comes two days after Greater Kashmir reported how the varsity was ‘machinating’ to shift the Faculty from Shalimar to Wadura Sopore in North Kashmir, drawing flak from the stakeholders. The Faculty is supposed to be established at Benihama in Ganderbal district, where land for the same has been acquired.
 “In view of the instructions given by Vice-Chancellor on 12th July 2011 regarding consolidation of the Faculty of Forestry, the memos issued vide this office letter no. No: AU/FOF/Shifting-FOF-Wadura/2011/771-805 dated 7/7/2011 and subsequent letter issued vide this office letter no, Au/FOF-Dev-Shifting/2011/F-24/819-28 dated: 10/7/2011 are henceforth kept in abeyance till further orders,” reads the Faculty Order No. Au/FOF/2011/838-877 Dated: 12/7/2011.

THE CONTROVERSY
 Official documents with Greater Kashmir reveal that the Chief Minister’s office had on June 29 shot a letter to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Tej Pratap, on the issue. “A delegation of the Faculty of Forest Sciences of SKUAST-K approached the Hon’ble Chief Minister at his private office during public hearing held on June 29, 2011 with a representation. The Chief Minister after giving a patient hearing to the delegation observed that it had been decided that this course would be started in Ganderbal (Benihama),” the letter (No: 7430 ) from the CM’s Private Office reads.
 It had asked the Vice-Chancellor to “please examine this and discuss it with me.”
 But the Dean at the Faculty of Forestry shot off a memo on July 7 on consolidation of the Faculty at Wadoora, Sopore. “All faculty members/non-teaching staff borne on the establishment of Faculty of Forestry, SKUAST-K, Camp: Shalimar and ongoing PG students (Forestry) community are hereby informed that the Faculty will be consolidated at Wadura-Sopore from 3rd week of July 2011 till the infrastructural facilities are created and completed at Benihama Ganderbal,” the memo No: AU/FOF/Shifting-FOF-Wadura/2011/771-805, reads.
 It adds: “Ongoing research of PG students in the field will not be shifted for the time being, however, students who have not laid their experiments shall lay them at Wadura. All old course minors will also be offered at Wadura.”
 The memo, however, invited severe criticism, primarily in the backdrop of the Chief Minister’s directive and the Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir’s assurance in the Legislative Assembly that the Faculty will be established at Benihama only.
 “If the Faculty, as per the rules and approval of different salutatory bodies, is supposed to be established at Benihama, what is the fun of consolidating it at Sopore? It will have severe fallout on academics and research of the Faculty,” officials in SKUAST-K argued. “Students registered for Ph.D and M.Sc programmes are running their experimental trials at Shalimar. How is it possible for them to be taught at Sopore and simultaneously take care of their research at Shalimar campus?”
 While the memos have been put in abeyance, sources demand the full roll back of the memos and establishment of the Faculty at Benihama—the Chief Minister’s constituency.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST