Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh government is all set to take over the management and control of the Jauhar University in Rampur controlled by the Samajwadi Party MP Mohammad Azam Khan.
The district revenue authority/ district magistrate of Rampur has already ordered for the transfer of the title ownership of 1,400 acres of land in possession of university in favour of the UP government.
The district revenue court after hearing the case against the university also ordered for the takeover of the land excess of 12 acre owned by the university.
Sources here on Sunday said process to take over the university was underway.
With the order of the district revenue authority, the land left with the university is only 12.5 acres. The SP MP Azam Khan along with his son, also former SP MLA is in jail since February last year in forged birth certificate case. Azam Khan’s wife also SP MLA was also in jail but she was released on bail recently.
The Uttar Pradesh board of revenue board in January 2019 had cancelled its earlier order allowing Rampur’s Jauhar University to integrate 1,400 acres of land belonging to village Gram Sabha. The board has also ordered the divisional commissioner to probe the allegation of encroachment levelled against the university.
In 2017, the district magistrate of Rampur had sent a report against Azam Khan to the state government in a matter of land grabbing. In his affidavit to the board of revenue, the DM had said Jauhar University was a completely commercial institute, run by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust owned by Azam Khan.
The DM had categorically stated that even though the institute was built on government land, it wasn’t doing any charitable work. The DM had said the land given to the university belonged to the gram samaj, which was supposed to be used for developmental works. The DM contended that the land was illegally transferred in 2012-13 to Jauhar trust.
Jauhar University had been the dram project of Azam Khan, which was mooted in 2004 by the then Samajwadi party government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav. UP government was also to provide grant of Rs 100 crore to the private university, as per the bill passed by the state assembly in 2004. The bill was, however, embroiled in controversy and the then government TV Rajeswar had refused to grant his assent to the bill. The foundation of the university was laid by the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2006 and it was formally inaugurated by the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in September 2012.
Ever since its inception, the Jauhar university project was mired in controversy with allegation of land grabbing against Azam Khan by the local farmers. Azam Khan was a powerful minister in Akhilesh Yadav government. BJP government headed by Yogi Adityanath ordered a probe into the matter after coming to power in March 2017. In 2019, as many as 26 farmers had filed complaints against Azam Khan whose land was illegally grabbed by the SP leader. Later, the Rampur DM had declared Azam Khan as Land mafia. (UNI)
