RGUHS campus officially moves to Ramanagara DC’s office today

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government will begin the process of shifting the campus of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) by moving the varsity’s engineering department to the Ramanagara DC’s office on Sunday.
As preparations for the inauguration on Sunday gathered pace, RGUHS registrar sent invites to the members of the senate and syndicate on Saturday. The government has decided to go ahead with the inauguration despite the governor sending a letter to the vice-chancellor against shifting the campus and the high court observing that the issue must be first discussed with colleges.
The move to shift the campus to Archakarahalli in Ramanagara was first mooted in 2007 and an amendment was made to the RGUHS Act to carry out the same.
However, getting into litigation with farmers over acquiring land for the campus delayed the process for many years. The farmers are still fighting for a higher compensation. Since they land acquisition process is incomplete, the government has decided to move the campus to a temporary building —the DC’s office— and shift to Archakarahalli eventually.
The syndicate had opposed this move in December, but went back on it in a January meeting, where the matter was introduced without a mention in the agenda. The syndicate then agreed to shift RGUHS campus in phases, beginning with the engineering department. “We were really bullied into accepting that,” one of them said.
Following this, a hundred colleges moved the high court, which earlier this week said that the government should discuss the issue and come out with an amicable solution. The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
In a letter to the vice-chancellor on March 14, Governor Vajubhai Vala said: “The academic year of the college will be over in June 2017. The shifting process of administrative campus will disrupt the current academic year as well as the examination process. I, therefore, do not agree to the shifting of campus as proposed.”
Ramanagara district in-charge minister DK Shivakumar who has been leading the government’s efforts to move the campus out of Bengaluru said: “There are vested interests at play. They’ve leaked the governor’s letter and are misinterpreting. We’ve met him yesterday (Friday) and his concern is about the students. We’ve assured him that the students will not be affected as it is only the engineering department that’s being shifted.”
Syndicate members said that the government’s move to shift to the DC’s office—with the land acquisition in Archakarahalli still pending—is not wise. “It will unnecessarily cost the university money to set up infrastructure in the DC’s office and then again at Archakarahalli,” they said.
TOI had reported in January that members of the university had argued that expenditure to create infrastructure in the temporary campus and then again spending money to build the new campus is not in the interest of the university. Shivakumar, defending the government’s move, said those opposing have gotten too used to Bengaluru’s air and Cauvery water. “Ramanagara is not even far, it is just 30km away and I want to tell them that we’re even going to bring Cauvery water there,” he said at a press conference.