In an early morning swoop, the Revenue Department demolished part of the campus belonging to GITAM deemed to be University, here in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
According to Revenue officials, about 40 acres of government land has been occupied by the educational institution and the management was informed about it. However, it is not clear whether a notice was issued in this connection.
Speaking to the media at the demolished site, RDO Kishore Kumar said that about 40 acres belonging to government have been under occupation by the private university since many years and this was informed to them.
According to him the land was occupied both by GITAM Institute of Medical Sciences and Research and GITAM deemed to be University.
He pointed out that at about 18 acres have been occupied under various survey numbers of Yendada and 20 acres under Rushikonda.
“We have today demolished the compound wall on the Rushikonda side and also on the Yendada side and reclaimed the occupied land that is primarily vacant inside the campus, which includes roads, gardens, playgrounds and other vacant sites. We have also done the markings,” he said.
According to him, permanent structures have also been surveyed and the marking has been done and it has been informed to the management. “Once we reclaim the vacant occupied land, we will then deal with the permanent structures, in the next phase,” he said.
The RDO also informed that the private university had earlier sought for alienation of 71 acres of land at market value, but it was not accepted by the government.
The spokesperson of the private university said that no notices were served and the demolition of an educational institute in such a manner was unlawful.
A huge contingent of police force accompanied the demolition squad and cordoned off both the roads leading to the university on the Yendada and Rushikonda side, in the wee hours at around 3 a.m.
GITAM was started by former TDP MP MVVS Murthi in 1980 and was the first private engineering college in this part of the state. It later turned autonomous and became a deemed university in 2007. It also started a medical college and is one among the designated-COVID hospitals in the district.
The campus stands on around 125 acres, with over 25,000 students.
