CUTTACK: The uncertainty over establishment of Ravenshaw University’s second campus is finally over with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laying the foundation stone for the project at Naraj here on Wednesday.
The Mahanadi campus will come up over 141 acre at Brajabiharipur near Naraj and is targeted to start academic activities within the next five years. Work on the project would commence immediately even as the district administration has been assigned the responsibility to complete land acquisition on urgent basis.
The university has already been handed over around 126.04 acre and transfer of the rest has been delayed due to local opposition and litigation over land ownership issues. The issues are being resolved and the remaining land will be freed and transferred to the university soon, Collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra said.
The Mahanadi campus will be developed as an advanced Centre of Excellence focusing on research and innovation. It will be a completely green and self-sustaining campus with state-of-the-art academic facilities, hostels, quarters, auditoriums, research laboratories, sports complexes, swimming pool and guest house.
The Government on Wednesday also released `10 crore of the `30 crore announced for the project by the Chief Minister during his visit to the university earlier this year. The money will be utilised in construction of a boundary wall to secure the land from unauthorised occupants.
While the total project is estimated to be around `500 crore, the second campus will be designed as a replica of the historic heritage building of Ravenshaw University. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has submitted a draft master plan for the campus and buildings which will be sent to the Government for approval, university sources said.
Expansion of Ravenshaw University had become a dire necessity as the main campus is suffering serious infrastructural problems to accommodate rising number of students and increasing courses. The present campus, spanning around 100 acre with 7,000 students, is facing acute shortage of space for classrooms and allied academic facilities. Plans for the second campus, though firmed up and approved by the Government a few years ago, had been hanging fire due to lack of financial support and provisioning of land.
Higher Education Minister Pradeep Panigrahi, School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra, Vice- Chancellor Prakash Chandra Sarangi, Registrar Kishore Das and local MLA Debasish Samantray were present.