The Delhi High Court recently questioned the University of Delhi, DDA (Delhi Development Authority) and the Centre for not constructing a campus of the university in the Najafgarh region in Southwest Delhi.Apparently, the university had been allotted the land for a campus a staggering 28 years ago.
The matter came to the court’s attention when a PIL was filed by the Najafgarh Senior Citizens Association. The association claimed that the youths of the area had almost no access to quality education. For this reason, they have to travel long distances to either of the two campuses of the university.
A bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said that it was a very serious issue. It considered this mater “a sorry state of affairs” as the land for the campus was allotted in 1989 for a lease of 99 years and still, there were no signs of construction.
As a response to the PIL, the court issued a notice to the Delhi Development Authority and directed them to file them a report with the status on the matter.
The matter would be heard next in court on January 22, 2018, and the court has issued a notice to the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Delhi Government and asked them to present their stand on the PIL by January 22.
The bench also said that a college campus was “badly needed” in the Najafgarh area and thus directed the Delhi Government to inform it about the status of the land that was allotted.
The Senior Citizens Committee also stated in the PIL that even after 28 years, all that the authorities have been able to build is a boundary wall around the land. They requested the court for the constitution of a committee to look into the process of establishment of campuses and colleges in Roshanpura, the village where land was allocated to Delhi University.
The matter came as a surprise to the students of the university because no one seemed to have the slightest knowledge about this land whatsoever.