The Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute of Engineering and Know-how at Lehragaga city in Sangrur, which has been closed for over three years, might quickly be repurposed right into a medical school.
The Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute of Engineering and Know-how at Lehragaga city in Sangrur, which has been closed for over three years, might quickly be repurposed right into a medical school. (HT File)
In response to Ravinder Hundal, further director, technical schooling, the Punjab authorities has proposed reworking the institute’s land and buildings right into a medical school, with the authorized course of presently underway.
Hundal confirmed that the proposal is beneath cupboard evaluate and {that a} authorized opinion has been sought from the advocate normal concerning the switch of the campus from the technical schooling division to the well being division. “The land and buildings of the Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute will be used for a medical college, and we are adjusting professors on an ad hoc basis in universities or other government departments,” Hundal said. Nonetheless, he famous that no particular deadline for the completion of the challenge is offered presently.
The destiny of the institute, which has been mendacity dormant since its closure in 2019 resulting from extreme monetary disaster, has left many in limbo, notably the workers members who’ve confronted important monetary hardship. The federal government’s proposal to transform the campus right into a medical school comes after years of uncertainty surrounding the way forward for the establishment.
Theinstitute was initially based in 1995 as a authorities polytechnic and later upgraded to an engineering school in 2005. Nonetheless, by 2019, the institute was combating an enormous annual deficit of ₹9 crore, with bills totaling ₹11 crore towards an revenue of simply ₹1.94 crore. A evaluate committee from two outstanding technical universities in Punjab—IK Gujral Punjab Technical College and Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical College—confirmed that the institute’s monetary instability made it unsustainable, resulting in the relocation of its college students to different establishments.
In response to the disaster, the Punjab authorities determined to close down the institute in 2019 and discover different instructional makes use of for the campus, comparable to establishing an Industrial Coaching Institute (ITI) or a level school. Whereas some steps had been taken to make sure college students might full their programs in different faculties, the workers, together with over 100 common professors, haven’t been paid for his or her companies in over 4 years.
Professor Harpreet Dhaliwal, who has been awaiting his wage for over 41 months, stated, “We have been waiting for our salaries for over 41 months, and the situation remains unresolved. The case is still in court.” The monetary woes of the workers worsened when termination letters had been issued to the professors in 2023, including additional pressure to the scenario.
In August 2023, the Punjab and Haryana excessive court docket intervened, directing the principal secretary of the technical schooling division to expedite the disposal of the institute’s property and be certain that workers salaries had been paid. Nonetheless, as of now, the workers stays in a state of uncertainty, with no decision in sight. The unresolved monetary points and the destiny of the workers stay important considerations.