Patna, Aug. 9: The decision of the Union ministry of human resource development (HRD) department to set up the Central University of Bihar (CUB) either in Gaya or near Bihta has dealt a blow to the state government’s promise to start the varsity in Motihari.

Sources said the Union government omitted Motihari from its plan as the town has not well connected either through air or railway.

“The Union HRD ministry is not in favour of setting up the university in Motihari. It has chosen two sites — at Bihta and Gaya,” a senior CUB official told The Telegraph.

If Bihta gets the final nod, the university would be set up on the 500 acres where Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is coming up. “The Union HRD ministry is thinking of bifurcating the 500 acres between CUB and IIT and both the institutes will get 250 acres each,” the official said.

The other plan of the ministry is setting up the university on the land owned by the defence ministry in Gaya. According to the plan, there are more than 1,000 acres of land owned by defence ministry in Gaya. The land served as the air force base during the British regime. After Independence, the defence ministry took over the land.

The official said: “The ministry is planning to go for an agreement with the defence ministry for taking control of the land and the place will be developed for setting up the central university.”

While Motihari is more than 250km from here, it also lacks air and railway connectivity and proper roads. On the other hand, Bihta is just 45km from the capital while Gaya is 100km and is well connected both through air and land.

The senior official’s statement assumes importance as during the third batch orientation programme of the CUB on August 1, the vice-chancellor of CUB, Janak Pandey, had highlighted that the CUB has established under the Act of Parliament and the state government has little say in deciding the site where the university is going to be set up.

Pandey said: “Kuch log bhram failaa rahe hain ki CUB jab bhi banega Motihari me banega. Is tarah ka bhram galat hai (Some people are spreading rumours that CUB would be set up in Motihari. Such stories are completely wrong).”

“When I joined CUB as its first vice-chancellor (VC), I was astonished to know that the state government has decided to set up the varsity in Motihari even though there were no such plans of the central government. The Centre can always reject the proposal of the state government according to the Act of Parliament,” Pandey added.

He said because the final site of CUB had not been decided, the work was progressing at a snail’s pace and the university is functioning from Birla Institute of Technology campus.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the state had allotted land for a central university in Motihari and it was now up to the Centre to decide when it would begin the construction.