PATNA: By July 2024, the prestigious National Institute of Technology (NIT)- Patna will get its second campus at Bihta, about 30-km away from the main campus located at Ashok Rajpath in the state capital. Spread over 125 acres, the new campus will have state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities, built at an outlay of Rs 526 crore.
NIT-Patna director Prof P K Jain said on Wednesday that the operational NIT- Patna campus at Ashok Rajpath was spread over only 33 acres, which is now fully saturated, restricting any further growth and extension of activities and facilities. "In the year 2016, Bihar government has provided 125 acres of land at Bihta for the development of its additional campus. The land has been fully acquired, and its boundary wall has been already completed with the support of the district administration," he said.
Addressing mediapersons here at the institute premises, the director said a master plan has been prepared to accommodate 6,600 students at the new campus, which will be developed in three phases. "In the initial phase, 50 acres of land will be developed. A detailed project report has been approved by the Ministry of Education and Rs 499.21 crore sanctioned and released through Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) for the development of its first phase to cater to 2,500 students. NBCC Ltd has been selected as the project management consultant," Jain said.
He added the NBCC has been entrusted with the task to develop over 1,06,000 sq metre area at a cost of Rs 475 crore. Additionally, a boy's hostel of 700 students’ capacity will also be constructed over 11,000 Sq m, costing Rs 50 crore.
This upcoming campus will be constructed on a turnkey basis under Engineering Procurement Commissioning (EPC) mode. The proposed campus will have five academic blocks, including the School of Electrical Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, and School of Applied Science and Social Science Engineering. The administrative block will have offices of the institute director, registrar, deans and other officers. Apart from offices, the administrative block will also have a senate hall and meeting rooms.
The other utility structures will be students’ activity centre for indoor games (also known as gymkhana), sports arena with two separate grounds for cricket and football, canteen-cum-café, central library and data centre, lecture hall complex with seating capacity of 6,000 students, separate hostels for girls and boys, continuing education programme complex (seminar, symposiums and conference hall), guest house, residential quarters, convention-cum-innovation centre and centre of excellence.
Apart from this, Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) system, use of surface water and rainwater harvesting technology will be implemented at the upcoming campus. To encourage the use of renewable energy resources, the latest solar energy technology will be implemented to meet the need for lighting purposes across the new campus at Bihta. Also, locally available materials will be used in the construction work for new campus.
Jain said, "A dedicated power sub-station has already been constructed, commissioned, and is in operation by the South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL). This sub-station will distribute power supply in two separate parts, that is, academic and residential, which will enhance the efficiency of utilization of electrical energy at NIT-Patna’s Bihta campus, expected to be fully operational in two years."
He said that to achieve the tag of green campus, the entire project is envisaged to secure at least 4-star rating from Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assesment (GRIHA), which is the national rating system of India for any completed construction.
