Follow us
Maharashtra's first National Law University (NLU) is all set to get its permanent campus in Uttan – a coastal town in Mira-Bhayander corporation area after a series of controversies.
The proposed plot is adjacent to the Maharashtra Judicial Academy in Uttan. Currently NLU has been operating from few rented rooms at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar.
The University had to vacate the Ismail Yusuf (IY) College in Jogeshwari after stiff opposition from a few Muslim organisations. When government sought to allot a piece of unused land of the IY College to law University, the development led to litigations and protests by some Muslim organisations, which claimed that the land was given by the Muslim philanthropist for welfare of the community.
The government gave in to the pressure and withdrew its proposal while terming it as "technical reasons". Due to pressure from the locals and Muslim organisations, the NLU officials then decided to vacate the IY college and went to TISS on a rental basis.
"We are currently in the process of finalising the land deal at Uttan,” said a high ranked official of education department.
It was only two years back then Congress-NCP government had proposed to house NLU at Uttan. The university started taking a concrete shape last year when a vice-chancellor was appointed.
State Government also sought to find a place at Kalina campus of Mumbai University also, at Gorai, but nothing worked out. It then went back to original plan of Uttan.
Interestingly, the VC has also agreed to the Uttan campus. "We are fine with the Uttan land. It wasn't offered to us earlier, so there is no question of a refusal," said the VC.
