Nearly 14 months after the Department of Commerce building was inaugurated at Central College, it remains vacant, owing to the red tape.
The irony has not been lost on students and faculty at Bengaluru Central University (BCU), which is facing an acute shortage of classrooms.
The situation is so bad that some classes are being conducted on the Indian Council for Historical Research premises, while a few departments are operating out of the MBA Department owing to lack of space.
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The building, which has over 20 classrooms, a library and computer laboratories, was inaugurated on July 31, 2017, by former Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayaraddi.
The construction was mired in delay, and was completed a decade after work began in 2007.
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However, the keys to the building have not been handed over to BCU as the payments to contractors have not been made. The building was constructed at a cost of around ₹4 crore, said sources in the Education Department, adding that payment of ₹50 lakh to the contractor is still pending.
Also, the electric wiring is still to be done.
An Arts student at BCU said, “We currently have to sit in small classes. There is also a shortage of toilets. We have even approached the university authorities and asked them to open the Commerce department.”
M. Ramachandra Gowda, Registrar, BCU, said. “It would be useful if the building was handed over to us at the earliest.
Higher Education Minister G.T. Deve Gowda has ordered that all the pending dues be cleared by Bangalore University,” said Mr. Gowda.
Vetting of bills
Bangalore University authorities, when contacted, said that while a majority of the payment was made, they were awaiting the vetting of bills by their Finance Department.
K.R. Vengugopal, Vice-Chancellor, B.U., said that he would look into the matter.