The State government has sanctioned ₹30 crore for Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, in a major infrastructure development initiative under the category of ‘heritage colleges’ with funds from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
Five colleges in State
Maharaja’s College is among the five arts and science colleges in the State that have received ₹30 crore each for enhancing academic and other infrastructural requirements.
The other four include University College, Thiruvananthapuram; Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur; Government Victoria College, Palakkad; and Government Brennen College, Thalassery.
The higher educational institutions were included under the project proposed for conversion of heritage colleges in the State into centres of excellence utilising the fund available under KIIFB, according to the government order.
Several projects
“It will be a big boost to the development plans being implemented at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, which is the only autonomous college in the State under the government sector. We had already initiated several projects to convert the college into a centre of excellence,” said P.K. Raveendran, Chairman of the Governing Council of the college.
Modern auditorium
Of the ₹30 crore allocation, ₹11.96 crore will be used for construction of the auditorium block. Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac had earlier suggested the construction of a modern auditorium that could play host to a series of international and national-level academic workshops and seminars.
The government has earmarked ₹7.71 crore for augmentation of laboratories and libraries on the campus. Lab facilities are expected to get a major facelift through this allocation.
The college will get ₹3.56 crore under KIIFB assistance for renovation of the heritage block while ₹88.82 lakh will be used for vertical expansion of the chemistry block. The renovation of staff hostel block will be carried out using an assistance of ₹78.47 lakh while ₹1.40 crore has been earmarked for drainage work. The government has allocated ₹2.11 crore for audio visual work for the new auditorium.
Kitco as SPV
Kitco will be the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the implementation of the projects at Maharaja’s College. The agency was earlier entrusted with the development of the academic master plan of the college.