(Top) One of the encroached sites of the college at Talasahi. The Balasore Women’s College at Gopalgaon. Telegraph pictures

Balasore, May 17: The Balasore Women’s College might have to return the special grant provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC) a year ago for construction activities.

The degree college operates from a rented building of the Red Cross in Gopal Gaon as it lacks a building of its own.

The college also runs Plus Two on the same campus. At present, about 1,000 students are studying here. The college had been allotted 3.2 acres at Talasahi in Gopal Gaon by the district administration for educational purposes in 1989. However, construction activities could not take place because of encroachments.

Although a few months ago the college authorities had made an attempt to claim the land with the help of the local tehsildar and the police, it went in vain owing to stiff opposition from the encroachers.

The squatters refused to vacate the land saying that they had been dwelling on it for the past four decades.

When both the parties had moved Orissa High Court, the petition was disposed of and the court ruled that the district administration could not evict the people from the land since it was now the college property.

The court had also observed that the institution could opt for a civil suit in this regard.

“The college can opt for civil suit on the issue to register its claim on the land since the high court has stated that it is a private land.

“The district administration has no role to play,” additional district magistrate Sribatsa Jena said.

“The institution was allotted land in 1989 and ideally, they should have taken over the land within three years. However, the college took no action during that period,” said Jena, who is also president of the college.

Principal Mitra Mahapatra said the college had received Rs 40 lakh from the UGC for construction of its own building.

Expressing concern over the future of the college, Mitra said: “If funds are returned to the commission due to non-utilisation, it would be very difficult to secure it again. The college is dying a slow death and if the land issue is not resolved, the institution might not exist in future.”

She said there were only four to six families staying on the land when it had been allotted to us.

Now, the number has increased to 59

On the other hand, the dwellers said they would not vacate the land and were ready to face a civil case.

“As per the court’s order, the college cannot use administrative force against the dwellers on this land where we have been living for the past 40 years,” said Dipak Das, counsel for the dwellers.