Close on the heels of announcing a hostel for North-East students in the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh visited the campus of Ramanujan College in Kalkaji here today and finalized the decision to bring up another hostel for Northeast students in the premises of the college. He was accompanied by the Principal of Ramanujan College, Dr. S. P. Aggarwal. The hostel to be constructed at a cost of about Rs.40 crores will have an accommodation of about 250 students to be shared by boys and girls on 50-50 basis. The hostel will be brought up in a four-storeyed building with provision to add two more storeys as per requirement later on.
Dr. Jitendra Singh along with a group of engineers and architects scrutinized the model of the proposed hostel complex and issued instructions to Secretary, North-Eastern Council (NEC), Shri Ameishing Luikham to immediately initiate the paper work with the college authorities to finalize the terms and conditions of the percentage of budget to be shared by the two parties i.e. the NEC and the Ramanujan College administration. Later, speaking to the media, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the decision to bring-up hostel for North-East students in Ramanujan college was also inspired by the fact that it has a good number of students from the region studying here and the college is affiliated to Delhi University. In course of time, he added, if the budget permits, more of such hostels will be planned in the Union Capital as well as in other metros of the country.
As soon as the initial paper work and required formalities are through, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the work on the new hostel as well as accompanying academic block of the college can be completed in 4-5 years, which will offer additional accommodation for the increasing number of students from the region. In the near future, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, he also has the idea of beginning coaching centers to train students from North-East studying in Delhi for preparation to appear in IAS, Civil Services and other prestigious competitive examinations.