Uttarakhand HC questions proposed shifting of college, asks state govt to respond in 10 days

NEW DELHI: The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the state government why it is searching for a new location for the Nanhi Pari Seemant Engineering Institute after spending Rs 14 crore on its construction at Madadhura in Pithoragarh district.

The state government has proposed to shift the institute elsewhere after a geological report cited the threat of land subsidence in the area. Hearing a PIL on the matter on Friday, the bench comprising acting Chief Justice Manoj Tiwari and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal sought an affidavit from the secretary of the technical education department in 10 days.

"What about the money already spent on the project?" the two-judge bench said during the hearing. Locals had donated their land for the construction of the engineering institute.

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The petition said it would not be appropriate to shift the engineering college to an alternative location after spending such a heavy amount on it. Uttar Pradesh Construction Corporation (UPCC) has already spent more than Rs 14 crore on the project.

It had to build a retaining wall before constructing the college building but it ignored the requirement, the geological report has said.