CJI Gogoi to grace bhoomipujan of MNLU on 18th
| Date :14-Aug-2019 |
(left) Justice Ranjan Gogoi (right) The perspective view of proposed campus of Maharashtra National Law University at Waranga.
Principal Correspondent: Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Chief Justice of India (CJI) will grace the bhoomipujan of the proposed campus of Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur coming up at Waranga on a sprawling 60 acre land provided by Government of Maharashtra. The bhoomipujan for the same will be performed on August 18 at 2.30 pm. Justice Sharad Bobde, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Chancellor of the University will preside over the function. Justice N V Ramana, Judge, Supreme Court; Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister; Justice B R Gavai, Judge, Supreme Court; Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, Chief Justice of High Court of Bombay and Pro-Chancellor of the University; Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister; Sudhir Mungantiwar, Minister of Forest and Finance; Vinod Tawde, Minister of Higher and Technical Education; Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Guardian Minister; Dr Vijender Kumar, Vice-Chancellor will remain present.
The design of the permanent campus of MNLU is an outcome of a national-level ‘Limited Architectural Design Competition’ held in 2017. The fully residential permanent campus on 60 acres of land provided by the Government of Maharashtra at Waranga, Off Nagpur-Hyderabad Road, District and Tehsil Nagpur at a distance of 23 km from the city will be constructed in three phases and will eventually accommodate 3,500 students and faculty. The phase-I will consist of site development (boundary wall, internal roads, lakes, drains, STP, landscape, etc.), academic block, administration block, library, UG boys’ and girls’ hostels, staff residences, amenity block and bank, informed Paramjit Singh Ahuja, a well-known Architect who had co-ordinated the competition of architectural design and also coordinated with MNLU for the project Management.
The planning intent revolves around the idea of balance, the need for a residential campus where the built and the un-built come together to create a mutually sustainable environment and in the process, bring about a sense of place. It is also driven by the understanding that students, tutors, administrators, staff and their families who come here to learn, teach, work and also reside, need to have their own while sharing in communal activity. From the student's perspective a place where she is free to roam, meet others like her and discover spaces suitable for learning and play. The design of the campus is unique in many ways and aims to achieve net zero low embodied energy campus. At the master plan level, efficient and sensitive planning measures keeping in mind climatic and seasonal demands have been adopted to ensure lowering of energy requirements, encouraging effective natural lighting, and mutual shading and ventilation strategies.
The entire campus is pedestrian friendly and barrier free thereby reducing the need for motor vehicles, reducing the energy footprint and making it a participative and an experiential campus. Use of the natural lay of the land for harvesting rainwater and storing it in 6 acres of man-made reservoirs has been planned for meeting the fresh water demand of the campus. Water conservation measures such as water recycling/reuse systems will help in managing water more efficiently. DEWATS + Vortex sewage treatment plant will reduce reliance on energy and extensive chemical treatments from which the treated water will be used for flushing and landscaping. Energy efficient fixtures, 5-star rated equipment and energy efficient building envelope are proposed to bring down the energy demand in the campus. The solar photo-voltaic system is designed to generate 4MW rooftop power resulting in net zero vis-à-vis the energy demand of the campus. Ample daylight in all the spaces through daylight harnessing has been introduced thus reducing dependence on artificial light. Native species of plants and trees are adopted apart from rejuvenating the existing landscape.
These strategies help in water management and micro climate control thus bringing the temperature down within the campus while mitigating urban heat island effect. Vertical vegetation masses are integrated to control dust, reduce heat gain and reduce glare. The campus not only aims to achieve GRIHA 5 Star rating but also strives to go beyond super ECBC norms. The campus will meet the objective of making the making the Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur an 'Autonomous Campus', meaning thereby a sustainable and self sufficient campus to the best possible extent, vis-à-vis energy and water resources while functioning as a near net zero and zero discharge facility.
The founding visionaries and administrators of the University believe that the students and scholars who are being groomed at the University must be taught to live in an educational system wherein they not only learn to live in a group, growing together but also acquire the basic tenets of 'simple living and high thinking'. Envisioned by Justice S A Bobde, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Chancellor of the University, the University would be a 'Modern Gurukul' with a comprehensive and integrated platform for learning system wherein not only professional legal education on materialistic system are taught, but also emphasis is drawn on values, ideals, manners and Samskaras which shape the persona of the budding lawyers into socially responsible citizens. It aims to become a hub for capacity building of judicial, quasi-judicial and other administrative services, NGOs and institutions in quest of expert legal advice and review. Prof C Ramesh Kumar, OSD, Academics and Construction working hard to make the event successful.