No extra fund for ayurvedic, homeopathy colleges in Gujarat

The state government has no legal obligation to fund the increase in the number of teaching and non-teaching staff in grant-in-aid ayurvedic and homeopathy colleges in Gujarat as per the norms of the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), the Gujarat High Court has recently ruled. A division bench of Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice J B Pardiwala passed the judgment while acting on a group of petitions moved by certain ayurvedic and homeopathic colleges in Gujarat.
The petitioners are all grant-in-aid colleges which alleged that the government was not sanctioning posts in their colleges as per norms prescribed by the CCIM, New Delhi. This, they added, was depriving them of allotment of students and continuation of recognition granted by the CCIM.

These colleges had argued that they were being provided 100 per cent grants by the state government as per the latter’s resolutions in 1981 and 1986.

They said that under a Central Act, they are bound to follow the norms framed by CCIM which, they added, has increased the number of staff members for the member colleges but the state government was refusing grants for the sanctioned staff while adhering to the set-up sanctioned in 1981 and 1986.

Arguing that the state government’s action in not sanctioning the increased staff strength was illegal and unconstitutional, these colleges demanded a direction to it to sanction the same and provide the additional fund.

The state government, however, opposed the plea saying it was not against these colleges increasing the staff strength as per the CCIM norms, but argued it was under no legal obligation to provide fund for the salaries of the additional staff. The state government argued that while it would continue to provide 100 per cent grants for the setup of the colleges as sanctioned in 1981 and 1986, these colleges could pay salaries for the additional staff with the amount collected from students as annual fees.

Dismissing the petitions by the colleges, the court said, “We are of the view that the government has made its stand very clear that it is not against fulfilling the requirement, as laid down by the CCIM and Central Council of Homeopathy, but the same is to be complied with by the institutions from the funds they are getting from every student by way of fees.”

Source:Indian Express