BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to expedite infrastructure development of Dharanidhar University, Keonjhar and make it self-sufficient within the next two years.
Chairing a meeting at Lok Seba Bhawan, the chief minister took a review of the university including infrastructure development, recruitment of human resources and facilities available in the institution.
Dharanidhar Autonomous College was upgraded to a university in February 2023 with affiliation of all the 38 degree colleges in Keonjhar district with it. However, the university lacks basic facilities, manpower and infrastructure.
Majhi advised authorities to utilise funds from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC) for furnishing of the newly-constructed South Block and renovation of the North Block buildings.
Majhi also instructed the university to prepare a master plan for comprehensive development of the institution. He asked the Keonjhar district collector to remove all encroachments and unauthorised constructions near the university, and to ensure the land is made available for expansion and construction of new buildings.
Expressing concern over the poor condition of old hostels, the chief minister suggested construction of two new six-storey hostels. He also directed to expedite the recruitment process for key positions such as registrar, controller of examination and controller of finance.
The meeting was attended by additional chief secretary to CM NB Dhal, Higher Education secretary Arabinda Agrawal, DD University vice-chancellor Prof Pratap Kumar Mahanty and Keonjhar district collector Vishal Singh, among others.