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MUMBAI: Eyebrows are being raised over the manner in which the higher and technical education department led by BJP leader Vinod Tawde has granted permission to 13 new colleges in the state despite the fact that none of these colleges has even basic infrastructure in place. All the colleges are directly or indirectly controlled by senior BJP leaders, including state BJP president Raosaheb Danve , medical education minister Girish Mahajan and Akola BJP leader Gowardhan Sharma .

Significantly , besides three leading educational institutions, Congress leader and former minister Abdul Sattar has filed a separate public interest litigation before the Aurangabad and Mumbai bench of the Bombay high court. “It is gross abuse of power. Despite the fact that not a single one of the 13 colleges satisfied the norms prescribed under the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, the state government granted them permission,“ Sattar told TOI.

Sattar said the higher and technical education department has sanctioned three colleges in Jalna district, the ho metown of Danve, but none meets the norms prescribed by the department. “The colleges controlled by Danve do not have basic infrastructure, but since he belongs to the BJP , he was given these colleges. Our public interest litigation was heard by the HC. It has ordered a probe over the manner in which permission was granted,“ Sattar said.

Prominent among the politicians controlling the educational institutions are Girish Mahajan (Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay College, Jamner), Danve, who controls Shivaji Smarak Samiti that runs a few colleges, and Gowardhan Sharma (Akola), who controls the Anant Maharaj Krida Mandal . On August 5, 2016, the higher and technical education department promulgated an order granting permission for 13 new colleges. As per the Universities Act, the educational institute must have its own land, basic infrastructure and staff for the new college. The committees of the universities which inspected these colleges had given a completely negative report, saying they should not be granted permission.

But the higher and technical education department invoked the powers under Section 82(5) of the Universities Act, which empowers the government to grant permission despite an adverse report by the department or the universities.

