No Land For University In Bihar? Rs 500 Crore Grant Lies Idle Because Patna Won’t Allot Land

As a part of a special package to Bihar last year, the central government allocated Rs. 500 crore for setting up of Vikramshila University near Bhagalpur. The state government, on its part, was supposed to provide 500 acres of land for the construction of the institution.

According to reports, the Nitish-led government in Bihar has repeatedly failed to do so. Despite reminders from top officials in the HRD ministry, concerned officers in the Bihar government are yet to identify a suitable place for the construction. Sources in the ministry stated that repeated reminders from the ministry have failed to bring the Bihar government into action. The ministry sent the latest reminder on September 6, seeking land for the university, but failed to get the desired response.

Bihar has just 11 state universities. A much smaller state, Haryana, has nine state universities. While Bihar has over 8.5 per cent of the country's population, Haryana has little over 2 per cent.

No wonder Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in the country, at just 63.82 per cent. The figure is 10.58 per cent below the national average literacy rate of 74.04 per cent. Meanwhile, the state apparatus is busy hailing Nitish Kumar as the next prime ministerial candidate.