PANJIM: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar declined any long term relief to Mandre College of Commerce, Economics and Management stating agitations are not a way to obtain an NOC to run any institution. 

Responding to a calling attention moved by the opposition benches, Parsekar also denied any injustice done to the college. 

“In my sympathetic view, no institution gets permissions by way of agitations. Institutions should not be a liability over the government.  Distance between the institutions is not the criteria; because what is important is to have proper infrastructure, teaching faculty and other facilities all of which is lacking in the existing college,” he said. 

The legislators had raised the calling attention apprehending that denial of grants and withdrawing administrative approval to the Vikas Parishad-run College was in turn sabotaging Prime Minister’s ambitious Beti Bachao Beti Padhao abhiyan. Ramakant Khalap, Chairman of the NGO is quoted as saying that government is making desperate attempts to shut the college. 

According to his claims, the Parishad was granted approval by ex-CM (now defense minister) Manohar Parrikar to start the college on grant-in-aid basis through an order on July 17, 2012, and assured approval for Arts faculty in 2013. 

To this, CM Parsekar stated that his predecessor – former CM Manohar Parrikar was also not in favour of giving the college NOC but Khalap’s repeated requests forced him to take the decision. “Khalap had told him (Parrikar) that his government (Congress) had not granted the college NOC and the present government should not walk the same steps. The NOC was therefore given,” he commented recalling various remarks by Khalap such as ‘I don’t want alms from the government.’

At its recent meeting, Goa University’s academic council had decided that the college’s affiliation from the 2016-17 academic year will be subject to NOC from the government.