Easy land norms soon for higher education institutes

 

In an effort to provide suggestions and solutions for solving difficulties encountered in acquiring land, the Centre has constituted a committee to recommend norms and criteria for determining the land requirement for Central higher educational institutions.

 

Sources stated Union human resource development constituted the committee after it was felt that there was an urgent need for revising the land requirement for educational institutions. It was learnt that government wants provisions for allowing  vertical expansion of the buildings and more realistic land norms as the existing guidelines had been laid down several years ago when there was surplus land available.

 

The committee has been mandated to study land utilisation by existing central higher educational institutions and also look at the International examples. The committee is expected to recommend norms and criteria for determining land requirement in the country taking into account the topography and availability of land. 

 

The committee will be headed by former secretary of higher education Satyanarayan Mohanty. It also comprises ex-secretary in HRD ministry M.K. Kaw; Director of college of engineering, Pune, Anil Sahasrabudhe; chairperson of Board of Governors, IIT-Roorkee, Ashok Gupta; vice chancellor, Central University of Gujarat, Syed Basi and chairman of Board of Directors, ICICI Bank, K.V. Kamath.

 

According to existing norms, the land requirement for higher education institutions, like IITs, IIMs and Central Universities varies from 100 to 500 acres. The land is required to be contiguous and free from all encumbrances. 

 

Over the past several years with the requisite amount of land not readily available it has been very difficult for the Centre and state governments in setting up higher educational institutions.