With infra projects promising easier commute, city colleges eye Alibaug for 2nd campuses | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: With upcoming infrastructure projects promising better connectivity, Alibaug is poised to become an attractive option for city colleges to expand, especially those in south Mumbai.
Leading the shift is the Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board, which runs HSNC University (HR and KC colleges). The board has acquired a 20-acre plot of land in Alibaug near Mandwa to set up a residential campus. HSNC is keen on shifting the cluster university’s major activities to Alibaug and extending its facilities to the board’s other institutions. A community resource centre to help urban youth to adopt villages and undertake community service, and a couple of new colleges, are also planned on the proposed campus.
The plans were announced during the board’s 75th year celebrations at Raj Bhavan on Thursday and a booklet enlisting the board’s aspirations was inaugurated by governor Ramesh Bais, the chancellor of HSNC University. University provost Niranjan Hiranandani revealed a plan to set up a residential campus on the purchased land in Sogaon village.
‘Colleges keen on extension have no better alternative’
Anil Harish, president of the HSNC board, said on Thursday that the university has purchased a 20-acre land in Alibaug for a residential campus. Pointing out that there are infrastructural projects in the pipeline to improve connectivity between Mumbai and Alibaug, the board’s secretary Dinesh Panjwani said, “We have the Ro-Ro services which have made commute to Alibaug easier.
The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link promises to further improve road connectivity. All these will be an advantage for students and teachers, who can travel from the head office to the main campus and back, and also in sharing resources.”
He added that there was barely any scope for expansion within Mumbai limits, especially for SoBo colleges. “We aspire to become a global university with worldclass facilities, and it would require space,” he said. After exploring various options, the board finally settled on the plot in Sogaon village near Alibaug.
A part of the land will be used for the university, and the rest for other institutions under the Board. Panjwani said the Alibaug campus will be an additional site for the HSNC University to host major activities. HR and KC Colleges, both part of the university, are in Churchgate, and the third constituent, Bombay Teacher Training College, is in Colaba; these will be appropriately connected to the new campus, he added. The proposed community resource centre at HSNC’s Alibaug campus will enable urban youth to camp for 3-7 days to undertake community service at adopted rural villages.
The board’s pharmacy colleges will undertake outcome-based awareness on consumer medicine, health awareness, etc. The law colleges will conduct training sessions on legal aid, IPR among other things. “Many colleges have inquired about our plans in Alibaug and rightly so; there is no better alternative for extension for colleges aspiring to become universities in the near future, particularly for the ones in south Mumbai,” said Panjwani.
Real estate prices in the region have shot up since infrastructural projects, including the Navi Mumbai International Airport, were announced. Other colleges which are looking to expand too may consider a similar second campus. Ashok Wadia, academic adviser at Jai Hind College, which aspires to be a degreeawarding university, said that they would like to explore options for expansion. V N Rajasekharan Pillai, vice-chancellor of Somaiya Vidyavihar University, said that they plan to expand but not outside of Mumbai.
“After the first five years, a private university is allowed to expand its physical campus. But our plan is to first consolidate our existing institutions. We want to bring the nursing and engineering institutions in Sion under the private university,” said Pillai, adding that the university has only completed four years.