The Uttarakhand High Court has instructed the state government to seek tenders for completing the basic infrastructure work at the Nanhi Pari Seemant Engineering College in Pithoragarh and to commence regular classes there. A division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal issued these instructions on Tuesday.
The college, situated 15 km from Pithoragarh, was constructed at a cost of Rs 14.5 crore. However, due to some landslides in the area, the first floor of the college got filled with debris, and the classes had to be relocated to the KNU Government Secondary School.
Despite the state government’s expenditure of Rs 14.5 crore on the construction, a controversy arose as classes could not be conducted in the college. The High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and requested a report from the administration.
During the hearing, it was reported to the court that classes will be held in 10 prefabricated rooms built on the campus of the nearby Government Secondary College, and an alternative route is proposed to be constructed from Pithoragarh city via Chandak, which will reduce the distance from the city to the institute from 15 km to only three-and-a-half km.
The court, upon hearing the petition, stated that after initiating the tender process, the state government should update the court on its progress within four weeks to avoid any further delays in the construction of the building.