JNU to sell properties, ask institutes to pay rent amid lack of fund
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New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which is in serious financial trouble and has little regular income, intends to sell or redevelop two of its primary sites to a private company in order to bring in a steady monthly income.
The JNU will monetise two of its buildings, Gomti Guest House and 35 Feroz Shah Road. In addition, the JNU intends to approach the education ministry and request that the twelve national institutes that are built on its campus pay rent.
On the monetisation of university properties, Pandit said, “We are looking to repurpose our properties; we have the 35 Feroz Shah Road which we want to redevelop on public-private partnership. We will have to get permission from the Centre because currently, nobody pays the rent. Secondly, we have the Gomti guest house behind the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) building. We are thinking of putting out an expression of interest to give it to a private entity so that they can give us a rent and run it with a profit. I am spending `50,000 per month on maintenance without getting anything back. I want to do what the IITs have done.”
Pandit said, “I can get Rs 50,000-1 lakh from the Gomti guest house every month. Meanwhile, on the Feroz Shah Road property, I want to make a multi-storey building somewhat like the ICC (Indian Chamber of Commerce). Seminar halls, auditoriums and guest houses can be rented. It can be professionally maintained and rent can come, but it will take more than two years to build.”
Additionally, JNU is working to reach a deal with the Ministry of Education so that the 12 national institutes—which are currently located on the JNU campus without paying any rent—will begin paying rent on a monthly basis. The V-C stated that since the university is unable to raise tuition, the rent would at least give them a steady stream of income.
The V-C added that the university intends to install solar panels on campus in order to lessen its reliance on electricity. “Our largest expense every month is electricity; students want everything for free, even ACs,” the V-C said.