No education hub at Hyderbad Race Course
Govt is now considering a site in Jawaharnagar, where 600 acre of government land is available
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-10-06 01:06 GMT
Hyderabad: The Telangana government is not keen on setting up an education hub in Malakpet by shifting the iconic Malakpet Race Course as had planned earlier. The government is now considering a site in Jawaharnagar, where 600 acre of government land is available, to set up the hub.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier stated that he wanted to shift the race course and set up the education hub, comprising premier educational institutions, schools and colleges. However, the move drew criticism from various quarters as the Race Course is a major landmark in the city. Heavy traffic and congested roads in Malakpet are stated to be reasons for the government changing its stand.
Education minister G. Jagadish Reddy had held a meeting with officials to discuss the education hub project last week. Officials told him that premier institutions had sought land on the city’s outskirts due to traffic congestion in core areas like Malakpet.
Premier education institutions such as XLRI, Jamshedpur and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research had already sought 100 acre each to establish their campuses. Even Singareni Collieries has sought land in the city outskirts to set up a training institute, while All India Management Schools Association has sought land to set up B-schools.
“Jawaharnagar would be the ideal location to set up the education hub since Hyderabad campus of BITS-Pilani and Army College of Dental Sciences are already operating from this location and the government holds hundreds of acres of land here. The other advantage is its close proximity to the Outer Ring Road,” said a senior official. He added that the proposal had been referred to chief minister who would take a final decision on the location of the education hub.
In fact, the HMDA had already prepared a master plan to develop 2,300 acre given by the state government seven years ago to generate revenues for the government. About 600 acre of this land was allotted to BITS-Pilani. It had planned a “mega education hub” and sought the help of Indian School of Business (ISB, Gachibowli) to prepare a blueprint on the project. However, the project did not move forward.
The Telangana government now wants to revive the project as most of the premier institutions are seeking land in the city outskirts and is worried that it may not able to convince these institutions to opt for heavily congested Malakpet.
Though the existing GHMC dump yard at Jawaharnagar is a cause of concern, KCR has already directed officials to shift the dump yard after identifying suitable lands in the outskirts to set up 15 new dumping yards.