Patna, Dec. 2: The standoff over the site of the proposed Central University of Bihar (CUB) has deepened with New Delhi telling the authorities here that it was willing to provide funds for setting up a state university in Motihari, where chief minister Nitish Kumar wants the institution to come up, as long as they got land in or around the capital for CUB.

Janak Pandey, the vice-chancellor of the university, told The Telegraph: “We have come to know that the Union government is firm on its decision to set up the Central University of Bihar in Patna or (at a site) nearer to the state capital, while at the same time it will provide funds for setting up a state university in Motihari.”

The Centre’s fresh proposal assumes significance as the Nitish administration has been opposing the decision to set up the university in Patna. Nitish has promised the people that the central university would come up in Motihari.

The chief minister believes that a central university in Motihari would help in the holistic development of the region. Nitish has time and again stressed that development should not be centred only in and around the state capital but all regions should reap the benefits.

Pandey said the state government was firm in its decision to have the varsity at Motihari, but pointed out that for setting up any institution of this scale, it was imperative that the region has the requisite infrastructure in place such as good rail and air connectivity. Moreover, he said, the region should have proper medical and educational facilities.

Pandey, who spoke to The Telegraph on the sidelines of a CUB-organised workshop on UGC academic and administrative reforms, said the state government had set up many institutes in the past few years, including Aryabhatta Knowledge University (AKU) and Chanakya National Law University (CNLU), but they had all run into problems. AKU, he said, is still to be fully operational while CNLU is not getting permanent teachers. “If teachers are not interested to come down to Patna, how can you think they would be willing to go to Motihari?” he said.

The vice-chancellor said that of 16 central universities, only three — the ones in Kerala, Rajasthan and Bihar — were fighting for space as the other institutions have all been provided land by the respective state governments.

Due to non-finalisation of the site, many courses which the CUB plans to start are being affected. CUB at present runs nine courses from its rented premises at BIT-Patna.