Chief minister Nitish Kumar discussed various issues related to Nalanda International University with external affairs minister S M Krishna in New Delhi on Wednesday and urged the Centre to ensure there was no undue delay in making available the necessary funds. He suggested that the Centre make adequate budgetary provision for the varsity and release money as and when required by it.
Maintaining that the university would be pride of the nation, Nitish told Krishna that Bihar government was fully committed to its early establishment and the land for the purpose was transferred to the university in February last.
"Of course, the university is being established in Bihar but it is going to be an international university of national importance. Since it began as an initiative of East Asia summit, pride of the country is linked to its early and successful completion," the CM said and added, "We need to send a message to the world about our capability to undertake such prestigious projects."
Nitish brought to the attention of Krishna that the vice-chancellor of Nalanda International University has still not been formally appointed. "This is a source of embarrassment as whenever Gopa Sabharwal has to correspond with outside agencies, she has to call herself as VC-designate," he said.
The CM further told the external affairs minister that some space had been made available to the university for use as an office at Rajgir. The building could be used till such time as the university campus came up. The building needed some repairs and refurbishing which could be arranged by the university after funds for the same are made available by the Centre, he said.
Nitish said the next meeting of the governing board of the university is scheduled to be held in Patna on July 6-7. During their stay, the members will also be taken on a site visit to Rajgir. "It will also give me an opportunity to interact with the members and to exchange views on how to carry the project forward," he said.
Source: http://goo.gl/GoZrT
