Garhwal Post Bureau
Srinagar (Garhwal), July 27: A high-level delegation from the university met with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to request the revocation of the ₹9.90 crore royalty and penalty imposed on Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University by the Tehri District Administration. The delegation briefed the Chief Minister on the entire matter and requested a full waiver in the public interest and the university‘s interests. The delegation, led by Vice Chancellor Prof Shriprakash Singh, included Dean, School of Earth Sciences Prof Mahavir Singh Negi, Dean (Appointment and Promotion) Prof MS Pawar, and Public Relations Officer Ashutosh Bahuguna. During the meeting, the university administration stated that the royalty was initially set at ₹1.90 crore, which was later increased fivefold to ₹9.90 crore, including the penalty. The delegation informed the Chief Minister that the filling of debris from railway tunnels was purely for public benefit. Currently, a road connecting several villages is being constructed over this flat area. Therefore, the University has not derived any commercial benefit from this work. The delegation informed that during the 2013 Kedarnath disaster, the severe erosion of the Alaknanda River damaged the road connecting the Srinagar-Chairas area and the University‘s playground. To protect the area, strengthen embankments, and restore traffic, the University used debris from the tunnels of the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) Rishikesh-Karnprayag Railway Project to refill the eroded area. This work was purely for public benefit and disaster rehabilitation. The University administration also reminded the Chief Minister that at a previous student event, he had taken this matter positively and had promised to bring a proposal to the Cabinet for relief. The delegation requested that the matter be included in the upcoming cabinet meeting and the royalty and penalty of ₹9.90 crore imposed on the university be completely waived.
The university administration stated that Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal, Devprayag MLA Vinod Kandhari, and several public representatives have already been continuously supporting this matter. In July 2023, due to the efforts of the public representatives, the District Magistrate of Tehri also sent a proposal for royalty waiver to the government, which was subsequently placed before the cabinet. Recently, the university delegation met with Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Secretary (Mining) Brijesh Kumar Sant, and Director (Mining) Rajpal Legha to brief them on the situation. The university administration expressed hope that the state government, keeping in mind the public interest, students’ interests, and the university‘s interests, will provide relief to this non-profit central educational institution and that a decision to waive the royalty and penalty of ₹9.90 crore will be taken in the upcoming cabinet meeting.
