New MRID building a jinxed affair

VADODARA: M S University has continued playing musical chair when it comes to identifying a new roof for students of the Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad Institute of Design (MRID) - which runs the costliest course in the university.

It was in May last year that the university officials, after much deliberations, had decided that the institute will run from the historic Sayaji Bhavan building, also known as the White Bungalow located behind the MSU head office.

Now, the university has dropped that plan and is instead looking at Gulab Baug bungalow, which earlier served as official residence of MSU's pro vice-chancellor - as the site new building for MRID. Re-locating the entire MRID to Gulab Baug is the sixth proposal that MSU officials have mulled in the last four years.

The institute was first started from Sayaji Bhavan in 2013 when the university was mulling the option of using air-conditioned portable cabins as classrooms for students. Later, it was proposed to construct a new building inside the Faculty of Fine Arts, of which the institute is a part. As the proposal was opposed by teachers of fine arts, the university proposed another location for the new building close to history department near D N Hall ground.

This proposal too met with resistance from within the syndicate body, some of whom questioned the logic of spending Rs one crore just on land adjacent to 'bhukhi nullah' - the tributary of Vishwamitri river.

Later, MSU even held a national-level open architectural competition for preparing design for MRID building which it decided to re-locate at Gulab Baug premises. It however dropped the idea of constructing a new building there and instead proposed to re-locate the building at the Sir Sayajirao Memorial Trust Library located near D N Hall ground. But even that proposal met with a controversy and university again started search for a new location for MRID and last year it had finalised to retain the historic building of Sayaji Bhavan and create a new structure surrounding that for the institute.

"We had initially estimated that we would be able to extend Sayaji Bhavan and create a new structure around it within Rs 2 lakh. But after we issued the tenders, the project estimate for extension of Sayaji Bhavan comes to Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore. So, we have now decided that we will construct the new building at Gulab Baug," said university engineer N K Ojha.

Ojha said that although the cost of developing Gulab Baug comes at Rs 12 crore, the university will carry out work in phased manner.

"We will initially start with phase one which will cost around Rs 5 crore. We will float tenders for the same as soon as the model code of conduct is lifted," he said, adding that new building at Gulab Baug should be ready by September-October 2018.

Presently, the institute functions from four locations. While the administrative office of the institute runs from Pushp Baug bungalow inside Faculty of Fine Arts, classes are held at Sayaji Bhavan, Malti Baug, Gulab Baug and Pushp Baug.

It is worth mentioning here that each of the 120 students enrolled in the programme pay Rs 1.40 lakh per annum as fees.

"If the infrastructure is properly developed, our institute can scale new heights. It already attracts applicants from across the nation," said a teacher of MRID.