CHENNAI: The University of Madras has sought funds from the state government to complete construction of buildings at the Taramani campus, said Vice-Chancellor P Duraisamy.
According to officials, due to paucity of funds, the university authorities had to stop construction of new buildings at the Taramani campus in 2014. The new buildings are necessary for the Taramani campus as a few old buildings are in a dilapidated state, marred by seepage of water during rains.
Officials said that owing to water-logging, faculties face a lot of problems in conducting classes and as a result, academic activities get affected. The buildings on the Taramani campus were built decades ago. “If new buildings come up, then we can shift some of our departments to it. Besides, it will also help us in accommodating more students so we can plan to expand existing departments or open new courses,” said an official.
The buildings that have to be newly constructed include administrative building, hostel buildings and classrooms. So far, the university has spent around `15 crore to `16 crore on construction of the buildings but we had to stop mid-way due to shortage of funds. “We need at least `20 crore to `25 crore more to complete the project,” said Duraisamy.
“We have written to the state government seeking funds to complete the construction work. We are hopeful that it will soon release funds,” added the V-C.
Varsity officials said the finance committee and syndicate of the university had sought financial help from the state government as the university is facing a financial crisis. Along with seeking money to pay pension to its staff, the university has also sought funds to complete construction activities at the Taramani campus.
“The state government has shown positive signs of fulfilling our demand. The government will definitely provide us funds,” said a senior official of the varsity.
For the last five years, the authorities have not managed to go ahead with any construction activities as they have no funds. Officials in the varsity said the construction of the new building started in 2011.