Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to lay the foundation stones on Friday for two new campuses of Delhi University in East and West Delhi. These campuses will have colleges named after Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar and late BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, sources revealed.
The Prime Minister is also likely to visit Ashok Vihar in Northwest Delhi to inaugurate several Delhi Development Authority (DDA) projects, sources added.
According to officials, the college named after Veer Savarkar will be located in the West Delhi campus in Najafgarh, while the institution named after Sushma Swaraj will be part of the East Delhi campus in Fatehpur Beri. The proposal to name the colleges after these leaders was approved during an Executive Council meeting in 2021. Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh had confirmed the names of Savarkar and Swaraj were finalised for consideration at that time.
The university has been allotted land in Najafgarh and Fatehpur Beri for these new developments. A girls’ college is planned in Fatehpur Beri, which will be named after Sushma Swaraj, an official stated. Efforts are being made to have the Prime Minister inaugurate both campuses, the official added.
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Commenting on the discussions about naming the colleges, former acting vice-chancellor P C Joshi told The Indian Express that several names were proposed during his tenure, including reformer Swami Vivekananda, BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, and Veer Savarkar. However, no names were finalised at that time.
Joshi also mentioned that the university faced funding shortages for these projects. While boundaries were marked on the allotted land, facility centres were also set up to assist students in completing documentation and paperwork without needing to travel to the main DU campus.
Currently, Delhi University has two campuses—North and South. Plans for expansion were announced a few years ago to introduce East and West Delhi campuses, offering additional courses and a law centre. In January 2024, Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh outlined infrastructure development plans with an estimated budget of Rs 1,633.6 crore.
A new campus in Surajmal Vihar and an academic block at Dwarka are also part of the development plans. Construction for these projects is expected to begin by April 2025. Singh had earlier stated that the East Delhi campus is projected to be ready by 2026.