MANUU officials reject infrastructure proposals under PPP model

Days after the Telangana government issued a show-cause notice to Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) seeking to resume a 50-acre land parcel, senior university officials clarified that proposals for infrastructure development, including a data centre and a medical college, on a little over 30 acres under a public–private partnership (PPP) were examined and ultimately opposed.

According to officials familiar with the matter, deliberations were held among faculty, administrative staff, and other stakeholders before a high-ranking panel reviewed the proposals. The body weighed the merits and demerits and concluded that moving forward would not be in the larger interest of the institution.

“The agreement would have been for at least 30 years. Construction was planned on around 30 acres or slightly more. The proposal included an AI data centre and on a large portion of the land, and a medical college and hospital on the rest, which was a smaller portion,” said an official aware of the developments who did not wish to be identified. “The panel comprising senior MANUU officials opposed the proposal over concerns that this would give private entities entry into the university.”

Another staff member opined that the university’s mandate as a central institution made such long-term private involvement problematic. “You have to understand that the larger issue is that of giving access. Long-term agreements with individuals or entities in such contexts could be problematic at a later stage. They were of the view of that PPP guidelines as laid down by relevant authorities should be followed in letter and spirit,” the member said.

However, there appeared to be a difference of opinion among members of the panel and other high-ranking officials, who too confirmed the development. “The future hospital and medical college proposal could have been beneficial to staff and students. But this was viewed as “concerning” by the committee,” the official said, describing the stage of proposals as “pending.”

He pointed out that this pendency of proposals did not imply the absence of other plans on how to utilise the land parcel. “Just because some proposals are pending does not mean that no other proposals exist. There are discussions of constructing hostels and other infrastructure for the university,” he said.

Student leaders and MANUU staff said that the Revenue Department staff have been in talks with the administration. The former pointed out that demonstrations would continue until the notice is withdrawn.