Hyderabad, February 09: After the infamous Care issue, the University of Hyderabad is once again in the eye of a storm for proposing to transfer 200 acres of its land to the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC).
Sources in the University said stage was all set to sign a memorandum of understanding with the APIIC on Monday for the transfer of the plot for ‘‘a collaborative venture to establish a knowledge and innovation park on the campus to facilitate an academia-industry interface and promote research and development activities.’’ Students and teachers had resisted a similar deal with Care Hospitals three years ago.
It is also learnt that the university administration has managed to get the nod from the University Grants Commission to ink the MoU formulated for profitable purposes in a public private partnership model.
APIIC sources said the stake of the APIIC under the deal will be 11 per cent, while the rest would be in the hands of the University of Hyderabad.
But the teaching and nonteaching staff members in the university are opposing the move. ‘‘We have learnt that official decks for the MoU have been cleared. Even though they sought approval from higher authorities like the UGC, the decision is clearly unilateral as it was taken without informing the teaching faculty and nonteaching staff,’’ said a member of the University of Hyderabad Teachers’ Association.
The faculty members held a general body meeting recently on the issue. They will stage a protest opposing the MoU with APIIC on Monday afternoon.
–Agencies