In a press statement, the varsity said it has revoked its earlier decision to hand over the land to BBMP after its 337th meeting of the Board of Regents, UAS. It was in the interest of protecting the research and educational mission of the University, the release said.
The precious germplasm collection in the research plots will be destroyed due to vehicular pollution, the release said.
The ongoing construction of the link road by the BBMP also involves construction of storm water drain, which is being done without consulting the varsity. “This will drain out all the rainwater and nutrients applied to the soil,” the release said.
The University has also cited that the expert committee appointed by the High Court, which stated that the research plots and biodiversity of the campus will be affected and said that this can be saved if the work is stopped immediately.
HC pulls up State
Directing the State Government to resolve the dispute between UAS and BBMP, the High Court on Wednesday pulled up the State government for messing up the road project.
Hearing a petition by the former Vice Chancellors of UAS challenging the road construction, the division bench headed by Justice N K Patil has directed the State to conduct an inter-department meeting involving top brass from agriculture department, forests, revenue and urban development and resolve the dispute at the earliest.
Directing the respondents to report the results of the meeting within two weeks, the bench said: “The government cannot sleep over the matter as it involves public importance.”
The bench also criticised the University for taking a contradictory stand regarding the road inside the campus, while at the same time observed that the report of the expert committee headed by Dr P K Shetty was not conclusive, as it has not given findings in the matter.