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38 years on, 51 acres still due to PU, say senators
The pending allotment of 51 acres to Panjab University was raised in the senate. The university is still awaiting the land it was allocated in 1986.
The pending allotment of 51 acres to Panjab University was raised in the senate on Saturday. The issue, which has been ongoing since 1986, was not listed in the agenda, but was brought up by senator Parveen Goyal.
As per varsity officials, Panjab University (PU) was allocated 103.25 acres in Sector 25 by the UT administration in 1986, of which the varsity was only able to use 40.36 acres. An additional, 11.85 acres were given to PU near the Sector 14 gurdwara. The remaining 51 acres remain with the UT administration, on which several residential areas have come up, including the Kumhar Colony and Janta Colony.
Goyal pointed out that the UT has constructed a school over 9 acre land in Sector 25, taking the surplus PU land still with the administration to around 61 acres.
In the last communication between PU and the administration last year, the UT had asked the varsity to submit documents pertaining to this land for scrutiny. Accordingly, a committee was constituted by the registrar for the same. Goyal, who is a member of the committee, said PU departments are passing the buck on who is to furnish the requisite papers.
“PU’s construction wing, architecture wing and establishment branch are all passing the responsibility to each other. We must examine why there has been a delay, and what the varsity can do to speed up this process,” Goyal said during the senate meet.
Committee chairperson senator Gurmeet Singh said,“I am shocked that PU has not pursued this matter for years, thereby weakening its claim over the land. PGIMER has constructed its campus in Sarangpur, and PU should also be given the land it is entitled to receive so that it can construct new hostels and accommodate new departments.”
“Never mind the nine-acre land on which the school has been constructed, the remaining 51 odd acres of land must be given to the varsity,”said Singh, adding that while the 11 acres allocated behind the Sector 14 gurdwara is also forest land, it is imperative that the university keep the land even if they do not construct anything on it.
PU is yet to respond to the letter sent by the UT. As per officials, they will get their documents in order and ask the administration to look through ownership records at their end before a formal reply is sent.
