MOTIHARI NEWS: MHRD hints relocate MGCU venues as Motihari’s site draws civil dispute

Sagar Suraj

MOTIHARI: Conceived just a year prior to Champaran Satyagrah centenary celebration, Mahatma Gandhi central university (MGCU) at Motihari is likely to be relocated from Motihari to Bettiah in west Chamaparan district in Bihar.

The Ministry of Human Resource departments (MHRD) at Delhi has recently hinted to the district administration to look out a potential site with approximately 302 acres- required chunk of land for this project. District Magistrate of East champaran Shirshat Kapil Ashok has revealed this in a recently held meeting in Motihari.

 “Land earmarked for MGCU has been landed in a legal battle. Revenue officials are yet to decide the title of the land”, said an official in the land acquisition department in the district.   

As the state government failed to provide required land to MGCU even after seven years of its inception, the university is still being run in the scattered locations in the rented buildings across the city. This is the reason why the Central government has not sanctioned even a penny for the development of this much needed campus.

Out of 302 acres to be transferred to MGCU, 136 acres of land has been handed over to university administration and the ownership dispute of 102 acres of land out of 136 acres is still undecided. The farmers, who claimed to be the owner of these lands alleged that district administration had acquired their land and also mutation, were created in the name of MGCU but they are yet to be paid.

“Why don’t we blame the authorities who are acting as squatters in this matter? Our lands have been taken away without compensation. They are neither deciding the matter of title nor paying us up”, alleged aggrieved farmer cum social activist Bibhuti Narayan Singh.

 “Can Chief Minister Nitish Kumar solve this standoff between farmer and land acquisition department? If not he should stop his “Samadhan Yatra” ( solution itinerary), said Singh adding that he should send a team from the  officials engaged in land record survey in motihari.

Ray Sunderdeo Sharma founder of Champaran Vikas Morcha-representative outfit of locals came down heavily on the state government for compelling the Center to relocate the MGCU site. “Neither district administration nor RARA- land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement authority could resolve these issues.”, he said adding RERA authority could not take up the issues yet.  

Acting vice chancellor Dr Anand Prakash told BNM that the proposal of remaining 165 acres of land pending before the education department of the state government is awaiting its final go ahead. Once that land is transferred to us, we will start our development works on campuses.