Encroachment on 62 acres of Visva-Bharati land: Sukanta
Times of India | 29 July 2025
Kolkata: Union minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar said on Monday that more than 62 acres of land belonging to Visva-Bharati had been encroached upon, despite measures. He was answering a question posed by Lok Sabha member Saumitra Khan.
Majumdar said a number of vice-chancellors of Visva-Bharati, on multiple occasions, have raised concerns over encroachment.
"The university issued administrative notices and consistently sought assistance from the district administration and state govt for the removal of encroachments," he said.
Visva-Bharati has seen its land encroached since 1951. A CAG report found that more than 25 acres of Visva-Bharati land had been encroached on between 1951 and 2004.
The campus was surveyed and demarcated in 2007-08, with more than 550 pillars installed. In 2017, the Union ministry of human resource development ordered Visva-Bharati to remove encroachments.
By that time, many shops along the campus perimeter had changed hands. Majumdar said the university has put up fences and built a 30km boundary around the campus.