Tata College in Chaibasa. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, Feb. 24: It’s colleges are being feted by the UGC, but Kolhan University is finding it difficult to upgrade its own infrastructure due to land hiccups.

An unmindful state administration, which had verbally assured the university of 26 acres in Chaibasa for the administrative building and other centres last year, is yet to initiate handover formalities.

According to university officials, a request for allotment of land was made to the state in November. “We held talks with HRD officials and were verbally assured 26 acres on the premises of Tata College (currently the temporary address of the varsity). Accordingly, we prepared a development blueprint. But now, without formal approval, the project is stuck in limbo,” said Father Beni Ekka, the vice-chancellor of Kolhan University.

Varsity officials said that they had even identified spots for the administrative building, postgraduate centres and accommodation facilities for faculty members following the state’s assurance of smooth land transfer.

“The college campus in Chaibasa is huge. We were planning the administrative building on a hillock and an amphitheatre close by,” the vice-chancellor said, ruing government apathy.

The varsity has also approached Tata Steel for land in Jamshedpur for a second campus. Elaborating on future plans, Father Ekka said their objective was to upgrade 14 affiliated colleges. “We are unable to come up with new courses for want of adequate infrastructure.”

Anjani Srivastava, director of higher education, state HRD department, said the process was lengthy and, thus, time-consuming. “The university will first have to get a clearance from the land revenue department and only then we can act.”

Sources said the university was, currently, not entertaining transfer pleas of faculty members. Ten appeals have been rejected in the past few months. “Our priority is to fill up vacancies. There are 50 per cent sanctioned posts lying vacant in colleges,” said V.K. Mishra, the varsity’s finance officer. Today, Karim City College, became the first affiliated college in the state to receive the prestigious College with Potential for Excellence tag from UGC.