Builders encroach AKTU’s 32 acre land in Barabanki
LUCKNOW: As many as 32-acre of land allotted to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) in Barabanki for its expansion was found to be heavily encroached by land sharks. The university estimates the land must be worth ₹100 crore.
AKTU plans to take possession of the land after its huge chunk was found to be encroached. AKTU vice-chancellor Vinay Pathak said he would write to chief minister Yogi Adityanath for intervention.
“We strongly believe that land consolidation officers and land sharks did some foul play that resulted into heavy encroachment over the land allotted to AKTU,” said an official.
The university officials said they will press their demand to remove the encroachment and will continue to do so till the guilty were arrested and the land was recovered.
In 2001, the state government had allotted two plots to AKTU for its expansion in Barabanki. One measuring 34 acres is intact but another measuring 32 acres is now heavily encroached by some builders.
The then CM Rajnath Singh laid symbolic foundation on May 21, 2001. But the construction work was shelved as university’s first priority was to establish its own building on Sitapur Road.
This year on September 11, a team of university official visited the site and found 32 acre of land missing. The university took up the matter with the Barabanki district magistrate who has asked additional city magistrate (ACM) to investigate the matter.
The AKTU V-C said he had all the papers, documents and drawings to establish that the piece of land belonged to the university.
Till early 2016, university official during their visit found the piece of land intact. But after over one and a half year, when they visited the area on September 11, the land was encroached.
On June 20 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly-constructed campus of AKTU. Established in May 2000, the university did not have a campus and functioned from the IET Campus at Sitapur Road.
The construction of the campus, spread over 30 acres (1,25,857 sq m), began in 2011, but stopped after a few months following strong opposition from farmers over land issues. However, work resumed in January 2016 after new vice-chancellor Vinay Kumar Pathak took the charge in August 2015.
The total expense incurred in the construction of the university campus was ₹194.72 crore. Another ₹17.14 crore was spent in building the Kalam Memorial Centre, which will house AKTU’s digital library.
Earlier, known as the Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU), the institute was renamed by Akhilesh Yadav as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University as a tribute to India’s Missile Man, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam who died in July 2015.