Rajendra Arlekar
Chennai: Governor R V Arlekar has given assent to 12 of the 13 bills tabled in the recently concluded assembly session, while seeking clarification on certain sections of Private Universities Bill.
The bill faced opposition from legislators of some opposition parties, who said that it would lead to commercialisation of education institutions. Arlekar, according to govt sources, sought an explanation on certain sections of the bill and reserved it without taking a further decision. Private Universities Bill reduced the land and endowment fund requirements for private education institutions to become private universities. Governor’s office has hinted that he would forward the bill to President’s office for her nod. The approved bills include the one empowering Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) to recruit personnel for urban local bodies — aimed at establishing a common mechanism and transparent recruitment framework — along with Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Bill, Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation (Amendment) Bill, Tamil Nadu Payment of Salaries (Amendment) Bill and Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax (second amendment) Bill.