Shanta never lobbied for CUHP’s North campus, says Agri Minister

The Minister for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Chander Kumar, has criticised former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar for not advocating for the North campus of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) in Dharamsala during the previous BJP government.

Talking to The Tribune, Kumar said while Shanta Kumar has claimed the delay in establishing the North campus was due to the state not depositing Rs 30 crore for forest land transfer, the former BJP leader had failed to address the issue when his party was in power. Kumar added that it was during the BJP government’s tenure that the then Union Minister Anurag Thakur had created obstacles in obtaining the necessary forest clearance for the Dharamsala campus, even though Thakur successfully facilitated the forest clearance for the South campus in Dehra.

He added that Shanta Kumar had remained silent on the matter at the time and was now raising the issue only after the Congress came to power. Chander Kumar said major educational projects like the CUHP in Kangra, IIT in Mandi and IIM in Sirmaur were all sanctioned during the UPA-II government.