The state cabinet on Monday approved the proposed bill at a meeting presided over by the chief minister Nitish Kumar. According to the state government sources, the bill will be tabled in the assembly next week. As per the provisions of the bill, the promoters of these universities must have at least 5 acres of land, if they intend to set up their institutions in urban areas. For other areas, the requirement of land has been raised to 10 acres. The state government has also made it clear that the cost of development of the institutions will be borne by the promoters only. The state government will in no way get involved in the process.
The decision of the state government has been attributed to the trend of large number of students taking admission in private educational institutions in Pune, Bangalore, Delhi and other places. The state government has also decided to construct its ambitious Ganga Expressway project on its own. After the no show of the private partners, the state government is now changing the mode of construction.
It will be now constructed through Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) mode. The state government envisioned this Rs. 3,160 crores worth project to provide 22 KMs long four lane congestion free road link within Patna. A few days ago, HUDCO has also sanctioned Rs. 2,000 crores as soft loan to the state government for this project. Rest of the cost will be borne by the state government. "The state government is finishing up the process and soon a global tender in this regard will be floated. We are hoping for a good response this time," said a senior official.
The government now wants to begin work on the project by next fiscal. State government has decided to acquire over 200 hectares of land for the expressway.