How would a closed North Campus of Delhi University look like? The area, flanked by the Najafgarh drain on one side, the Kamla Nehru ridge on the other, the Ring Road in the North and Kamla Nagar in the south, is primarily dotted with university buildings, including various colleges, hostels, sports complexes and administrative blocks. And if the university authorities have their way, the campus will be closed off to the public.
Speaking at the 96th convocation of the university last month, Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi gave a fresh impetus to what has been a long-standing idea, saying he hoped the area will be turned into an “integrated campus with no thoroughfare” within one year.
While no concrete plan has taken shape yet, Bipin Tiwari, a member of the task force set up by the university’s Campus Development Committee, formed to look into the proposal, said that a closed campus could mean the setting up of entry and exit gates at certain key roads such as Chhatra Marg, Cavalry Road, University Enclave and GTB Road. Through this, the university hopes to restrict the movement of vehicles, not belonging to the staff or students, which currently pass through the area freely. It would also mean setting up alternative routes to divert the traffic. The task force has written to the Public Works Department (PWD) asking it to carry out a traffic survey of the area and determine what routes may be possible.
“As of now there are two major hurdles in the development of a closed campus — one, a traffic survey needs to be done, and the other, the proposed construction of a high-rise building near the metro station,” said Mr. Tiwari.
Hurdles in plan
The construction in question has been widely opposed by university stakeholders, including the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), the Delhi University Students’ Association (DUSU), various students’ groups and the university administration as well. They claim that multiple rules were violated in granting permission to the construction, which is coming up on a plot said to have originally belonged to the Ministry of Defence, passed on to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and finally sold to a private builder. While the matter is before the Supreme Court, the impending construction also has a role to play in the university’s renewed interest in a closed campus.
“It’s an old demand that has been a part of the manifestos of students’ groups since the '90s... but the threat of the building has expedited the process,” said Rasal Singh, another member of the task force. “Once the building comes up, this area can never be made into an integrated campus,” he said. “Removing jhuggis is so difficult, how will a high-rise building be removed once it comes up?” he asked. In fact, the zonal development plan for the area under the Delhi Master Plan 2021, which the Vice-Chancellor cited to make his case for the ‘integrated campus’, also states that the area has been restricted for tall buildings.
Call for larger campus
Heads of colleges in the area, whom The Hindu spoke to, have welcomed the proposal of closed campus. With increasing population, especially on account of expansions to accommodate OBC and EWS reservations, the North Campus area has become exceptionally crowded, said principal of Ramjas College, Manoj Khanna. The traffic in the area is bound to get worse if it is not closed off, he said, adding that safety of staff and students will also be at risk.
“The need for this [closed campus] wasn’t felt when the university initially settled here,” said Vibha Chauhan, principal of Kirori Mal College, but reiterated that with heavy traffic movement these days it had become imperative. She also pointed out that any security-related issues concerning the area were dealt with by the police and were out of the hands of the university. “These questions also determine the kind of curfew we put on our hostels. We would like our students to be able to come in and go out freely, they are adults after all,” she said.
The move would bring greater mobility and a “sense of belongingness” to the area, suggested Anju Srivastava, the principal of Hindu College. She compared it to the current scenario where the students tend to hold a sense of boundary within their respective colleges. This could extend to the larger university complex and “create a feeling of one big family”, she said. The change in physical infrastructure would also impact the academic lives of everyone on the campus, Ms. Srivastava added.
Safety concerns
While safety of women students was offered as a reason for setting up a closed campus, at least one stakeholder was opposed to the idea. A representative of Pinjra Tod campaign told The Hindu that the group did not support the move as it would probably lead to “more surveillance, gates, locks and guards to monitor who can and cannot enter the university”. A public university should be open to the public and the proposal of a closed campus reinforces the problematic notion of some imaginary “outsider” as the threat to women’s security while the administration ignores their other demands, said the Pinjra Tod representative.
“We are demanding free movement, not a bigger cage to live in, which is what a closed campus will be,” the representative said, adding that the university would use the pretext of a closed campus to clear out street vendors, rickshaws, tea stalls and other small traders.
Nitin Gupta of the Kamla Nagar Market Association said that while it would be too early to comment on any such proposal, the other stakeholders, including the residents in the area, would have to be taken into confidence for any such move.
