Guwahati, May 15: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday asserted that the state government would not allow outsourcing any government property to private organisations or individuals.
Referring to Cotton University, the chief minister stated, “Cotton University carries the rich legacy of Cotton College. The Assam government will not allow outsourcing its properties to any private individuals or organisations. The University authority must stop any such exercise immediately.”
Sarma’s statement came in the wake of reports of a panel being set up to look for ‘space allocations on the university premises to outside parties for generation of revenue.”
Clearing the air on the issue, the registrar of the university in a statement issued here said, “It is unfortunate that a notification issued by the authorities of Cotton University recently has led to controversy and concern about proposed modes of facilitation and services for the student community.”
“The notification centred around the constitution of a standing committee intended to evaluate and scrutinise the prospects and possibilities of bringing in a few parties to cater to student and academic needs. However, the news circulated on May 14, 2024 by a section of the media regarding the institution’s land, extrapolating from the content of the notification, have been misreported and are false and baseless,” the registrar stated.
“The institution and its stakeholders reiterate that they have no intention of causing confusion or any form of alarm in the minds of the public regarding the integrity and well-being of Cotton University,” the registrar stated.