Dehradun: Almost a week after the Union Cabinet granted the Central University status to the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri has sought a similar status for the Kumaon University.

In a letter to written to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Khanduri thanked him for his extended support to the state.

He said that looking at the regional aspirations of the Kumaon area, a Central varsity status was essential for Kumaon University.

In his letter to the PM, Khanduri said, "Kumaon and Garhwal are the two distinct regions of Uttarakhand. The grant of a Central University status only to the Garhwal University would deprive the Kumaon region of the spin-off benefits that a central university brings for higher education."

The Union Cabinet had, on Friday, cleared a proposal to establish 12 new central varsities and upgrade four existing state universities to central universities.

The 12 new proposed central universities will come up in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand.

The state universities which will be upgraded to a central university include the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar (Uttarakhand); Dr. Harisingh Gaur University, Sagar (Madhya Pradesh); Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspaur (Chhattisgarh) and Goa University, Goa.