100 acres mandatory to set up private universities in Tamil Nadu, says UGC
The UGC committee also pointed out that with the ever-increasing demand for higher education, more HEIs are required in cities and underserved and unserved areas.
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CHENNAI: University of Grants Commission said that Tamil Nadu has provisions to maintain a maximum of 100 acres as the land requirement for establishing private universities in the urban areas, which is the highest among the states.
Releasing the report of the expert committee constituted to determine land requirements for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), the commission pointed out that the cities are growing exponentially and even urban spaces make up 3% of the country's area, they account for a staggering 60% of its GDP, which is driving increased demand for higher education.
Also releasing the details of land requirements, the report said that for setting up private universities in the urban areas of Tamil Nadu, the minimum requirement of land would be 100 acres as per the Tamil Nadu Private University Act 2019.
However, the report further said considering the constraints in the metropolitan cities for land, the committee recommends that the land requirement should be minimum 10 acres with a 3-acre open space.
Accordingly, the land need not be contiguous, scattered expansion could be permitted and vertical expansion may also be permitted, wherever the law permits. Further, the report said, the built up area could be reduced. However, the total area of open space should be maintained as 3 acres to support a healthy green campus.
The UGC committee also pointed out that with the ever-increasing demand for higher education, more HEIs are required in cities and underserved and unserved areas.
In addition, the committee, in its report, also suggests that universities should have at least 3,000 students and the Deemed to be University Regulations 2019 state that each student should have 30 square meters. The land must be unencumbered and continuous. The land must be freehold or on lease. If on a lease, it must be for a minimum period of thirty years.
The report said that it was necessary to rationalize the amount of land needed to set up HEIs by taking into account the rise in gross enrollment ratio, the expansion of cities, the diversity of topography, and the growth of higher education institutions.
