Patna: Uncertainty looms over the launch of new courses at Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, because even after over two years the university is yet to get land for a permanent campus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to lay the foundation stone of a new campus during his visit to Motihari last week but the district administration is yet to acquire land for it.

"We were optimistic about the Prime Minister laying the foundation stone of a new campus, but it could not be done because of delay in land acquisition," a senior MGCU official said.

The new campus is coming up on 302 acres at Bariyarpur in Motihari, around 153km north of Patna, covering three villages.

In the first phase, the district administration plans to acquire 136.4 acres.

"The administration has so far acquired 2.6 acres, spending Rs 15 crore," Motihari district magistrate (DM) Raman Kumar said. "The land-acquisition process has started. The district administration will on a priority basis release compensation to beneficiaries."

The varsity administration, however, feels delay in handing over land will make it difficult for them to start new courses from the next academic session.

"We have around 600 students from two academic session (2016 and 17) studying in 13 undergraduate and two post-graduate courses," said vice-chancellor Arvind Agarwal. "The university runs from a transit campus at Zila School, which is not sufficient to house 600 students."

The university has built small rooms with plywood and glasses to accomodate faculty and non-teaching staff.

"If the district administration fails to provide land for a permanent campus, it will be very tough for us to admit students in the next academic session," Agarwal said.

He said the university administration is not planning to launch post-graduate courses, thanks to the space crunch, .

"The land acquisition process for Mahatma Gandhi Central University has commenced and it will be completed soon," education minister Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma said when contacted.

Delay in land acquisition for central projects was a weapon the BJP had used to target the erstwhile Grand Alliance government. Asked why there was delay in acquisition now when the NDA is in power both at the Centre and in the state, the minister said: "Land can be acquired for any project only with the consent of farmers. The government cannot snatch land by force."

Union human resources development minister Prakash Javadekar and his deputy Upendra Kushwaha had inaugurated the varsity's first academic session in October 2016.

The varsity is the brainchild of chief minister Nitish Kumar. He had announced setting up of the university in Motihari in November 2007.