Kerala identifies land for setting up AMU campus

The Kerala government has identified 400 acres of land in Malappuram district for setting up an off campus centre of the Aligarh Muslim University.

The Kerala government has identified 400 acres of land in Malappuram district for setting up an off campus centre of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), a state minister said Tuesday.

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Last year, the central human resource development ministry had decided to set up five off campus centres of the AMU across the country, of which one campus was to be in Kerala.

"There was some talk that the state government was not keen on (establishing) this centre. But the truth of the matter is that we have done our job and the responsibility now lies with the central finance ministry which has to sanction funds," Kerala Education Minister M.A. Baby told reporters here.

"The planning commission also has to give its nod. For each centre that has been cleared it would cost the finance ministry Rs.4 billion," Baby said.

Malappuram district has the largest number of Muslims in the state and legislators from the district have for long been demanding an AMU campus.