The High Court, in two different cases, has directed the government to clear Rs 350-crore arrears to private college managements within two weeks and to justify fixing the common fee at Rs 35,000 by the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee. A division bench headed by acting Chief Justice
P.C. Ghose on Tuesday directed the state government to clear the arrears and inform the court about the payment within two weeks. The court was hearing petitions filed by managements of engineering colleges which stated that the government had not reimbursed fees for the last four academic years which had led to severe financial hardships for them.
The petitioners had earlier approached the Supreme Court that had directed the government to clear the arrears in a phased manner and asked the petitioners to approach the High Court if there was pendency beyond the schedule of payment agreed to by the state. In another case, the court asked the authorities concerned to justify fixing Rs 35,000 as the common fee. Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy also directed the AFRC to inform HC by Wednesday about how the latter had arrived at the common fee. The judge was dealing with a writ petition filed by a student, G. Pooja Reddy, seeking direction to the government to notify the fee structure in engineering colleges.