Panipat, October 3
Faced with an acute resource-crunch, Panjab University (PU) is exploring the possibility of the commercial utilisation of six acres of prime land on the Panipat-New Delhi stretch of the G.T. Road besides other such ventures.

A committee comprising Senators Prof Charanjit Chawla, Mr G.K. Chatrath, Prof R.D. Anand and Prof Bal Krishan of the Department of Law, besides the Registrar, Mr Paramjit Singh, has been constituted by the university to work out the modalities for the commercial exploitation of the land with a view to raising resources for the fund-starved university, according to reliable sources.

At a recent meeting, the committee deliberated upon various options for the commercial use of the property. The construction of a commercial complex and the sale of the prime land, estimated to be worth about Rs 2 crore in the open market, were discussed at the meeting.

At present, about 4,000 sq ft of the area is covered. It was leased out to the State Bank of India (SBI) and the lease is due to expire in a few months.

It was suggested that the university could take a loan from the SBI for constructing a commercial complex, a portion of which could be rented out to the bank.

The SBI had reportedly urged the university authorities to renovate and expand the existing building. Recently period, there has been a spurt in industrial activity adjoining the land and several banks and industrial units have set up their offices in the area, pushing up the rental value.

The university could hardly use the land for academic purposes like setting up of a regional centre, since none of the Haryana colleges are affiliated to the university.