Central Varsity in Amritsar

The Union government has sought 700 acres, free of cost, from the Punjab government for setting up world-class Central university at Amritsar. Union human resource minister Arjun Singh has written in this regard to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Badal today said Punjab would extend all help to the Union government for setting up the university. He would request the Union government to review its demand for 700 acres. He said for the university, 100-150 acres should be enough when technology was available to build 30/40-storey buildings easily. “The government was prepared to provide the land, free of cost, but the Union government should lower the demand for land,” said Badal.

At Amritsar and nearby areas, the minimum cost of land is Rs 1crore per acre. To provide 700 acres of land, Punjab will have to spend Rs 700 crore and it will be a huge investment if judged from the angle of setting up an academic institution. The Union government is for setting up 16 Central universities in the states which have no such university and want to take up the job at the earliest. Badal was not aware of the area of focus of the university.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is from Amritsar, has particularly selected the city for the world-class university. As Amritsar has connectivity by air with various cities of the world, the Prime Minister had told the Union Human Resource Development Ministry to set up the university there.

Badal said the police university,to be partially funded by the Central government,would be set up at Laddowal, near Ludhiana. “We were keen to set up it at Phillaur, but there was not enough land available for the purpose. At Laddowal, the police has its own 50 acres,”he said.

Though Badal did not disclose, but Punjab is also keen to set up a vocational university that will focus on job-oriented training to class X and XII pass students. There is a huge demand for skilled youth in the private sector, but there is no institution to provide them systematic vocational training.

Punjab, virtually destroyed by certain politicians, who, when in power, allowed the setting up of several third-rate institutions in medical and general education sector, is now emerging as a hub of some highly rated educational institutions, thanks to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Because of him, Punjab has got the National Institute of Science and Research, the National Institute of Nano Technology, National Bio-technology Park, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Indian School of Business (ISB) and some other institutions which are in the pipeline.