Bhubaneswar: The state government has constituted an extended committee to identify a suitable location for Rama Devi Women's University's second campus.

The decision came after Utkal University authorities recently said it would be difficult to accommodate another varsity on its campus and approached the government to review its stance on the issue.

Higher education minister Ananta Das held a discussion with Utkal vice-chancellor Soumendra Mohan on the issue on Tuesday.

The committee will submit a report before March 15. "We will take a final decision after we get the report," said Das.

Besides vice-chancellors of both the varsities, the panel includes the higher education department director, Khurda collector and additional secretary to the estate the director of the general administration department.

"We held a meeting with varsity stakeholders and concluded that it would be difficult to accommodate another varsity on our campus considering the plans to expand our own facilities," Patnaik said after the meeting.

The government's recent decision to set up Rama Devi Women's University second campus on the Utkal premises sparked tensions.

They had also blocked the National Highway-16 and boycotted classes to demand withdrawal of the decision.

The state higher education department had, in 2016, proposed that Utkal provide land for the proposed second campus of Rama Devi Women's University.

However, following students' protest, then utkal University vice-chancellor Ashok Das rejected the proposal to allot land on its campus.

Later, the Khurda district administration identified 30 acres at Daspur on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar for the project.

However, the decision was subsequently overturned citing distance and concerns over security.