Ayurveda students suspend stir
Govt directs the private Ayurveda colleges to follow orders of HC on fee hike and refund
After the terse directive of the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to the officers of the Ayush department to ensure that the orders of Uttarakhand High Court (HC) on the fee hike of private Ayurveda colleges are enforced, the agitating students of these colleges have decided to suspend their agitation. A formal decision, however, would be taken after the student leader Lalit Tiwari admitted in the GDMC hospital is discharged.
Expressing concern over the agitation of the students and the loss of their studies, the CM has said that the agitation of the students should come to an end.
In order to persuade the students to take back their agitation, the Ayush secretary Dilip Jawalkar met a five- member delegation of the students. He assured the students that the private colleges would follow the orders of the court and strict action would be taken against them if they continue to overlook the HC order. He also released an order directing the private colleges to implement the order of HC within a period of one month. The order clearly mentions that action under section 37 (1) of the Uttarakhand Ayurveda University Act would be initiated against the private colleges not adhering to the order of HC.
The Government can cancel the affiliation of the colleges under the provisions of the act. Allaying the fear of the students of harassment by the colleges, the state administration has directed the District Magistrates and senior superintendent of police of Dehradun and Haridwar to ensure that students are not harassed.
The leader of the agitating students, Lalit Mohan Tiwari told the Pioneer that the students have faith on the assurance of CM and they are very happy with the step taken by the government.
The Issue
The Uttarakhand Government in the year 2015 had released a Government Order (GO) for increase in fees of the private Ayurveda Colleges of the State.
This GO was issue without necessary recommendation of the fee fixation committee and was implemented from back date in gross violation of all norms. On the orders of Supreme Court (SC), a fee fixation committee decides on the fee structure of private colleges.
On July 2018, the HC cancelled the GO and directed that the increased fee should be refunded within 15 days.
The private colleges challenged this order but on October 9, 2018, a bench of HC upheld the earlier decision of single bench. In pursuance of the HC order, the state government passed the orders for fee refund but the administrators of these colleges are not following the order.
Interestingly, the State administration had issued three orders dated November 2, 2018, March 22, 2019 and April 23, 2019 asking the private colleges to refund the fee as per the orders of the HC but the private colleges continued their defiance. On September 23, 2019, the HC issued orders to 13 private colleges on a contempt petition but even it failed to yield any result.
Meanwhile, the students launched a massive agitation on the issue.
On Thursday, CM Rawat chaired a high-level meeting consisting of Ayush Minister Harak Singh Rawat and chief secretary and directed that the orders of court should be enforced.
Saturday, 23 November 2019 | PNS | Dehradun
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