BERHAMPUR:  The Khallikote Cluster university may finally get a building of its own, albeit on rent of a whopping Rs 9 lakh a month.

The four-year-old cluster university, the first such institution in the State, has been functioning from the Khallikote college campus. 

There was little space for the cluster university as the Khallikote Junior College is functioning from the same campus since 2007 with 4,500-odd students in three streams of Arts, Science and Commerce. 

The Khallikote cluster university was created with five nodal colleges including the Khallikote Autonomous College under the Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan in 2015.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid foundation stone for a permanent building of the university near Palur Hills on the outskirts of the city. 

A 20-acre patch of land was identified for the campus and till the new building came up, the Higher Education Department decided to operate the university from Khallikote Autonomous College campus.

The university started functioning last year with six PG departments and 27 students. As many as 35 faculty members were appointed to the university.

An amount of Rs 12.26 crore was released for the first phase construction work by the Ministry of Human Resources Development under RUSA and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) was entrusted with the work.

However, two years later, the CPWD found out there is no water at the site for even construction and the area was too rocky.

Subsequently, the university authorities urged the Higher Education Department to search for another piece of land.

Meanwhile, owing to space crunch in the existing campus the department allowed the university authorities to move out to a rented campus. 

Vice-Chancellor Prof Amaresh Mishra said an expert committee of the department selected a private furnished building at Kanisi on the outskirts of the city which has been taken on rent at Rs 9 lakh per month. The university authorities will move to the new campus soon. 

The decision, however, has not gone down well with locals who feel it is a waste of public money and Rs 9 lakh rent per month could be put to better use.

“The money could be used for development of the existing campus and other infrastructure works”, said district BJP unit president Kanhu Charan Pati who is an alumnus of the autonomous college.

Members of Ganjam Mahila Congress have also protested the move and threatened to resort to agitation if the cluster university to shifted to Kanisi. 

On the other hand, the VC said the university administration has no say in the decision to move to rented accommodation and it is entirely the responsibility of Higher Education Department.