Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy will inaugurate a new agriculture college at Dichpally mandal in Nizamabad on Friday, spread over 120 acres. This will be the 10th such college in the state.The Telangana govt had earlier decided to establish three new agriculture colleges to cover uncovered united districts, including Nizamabad, in line with the policy and guidelines prepared by Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTAU) and submitted to the state govt. Following the recommendations of an expert committee, PJTAU identified the Dichpally as suitable for a new agriculture college and sought the allocation of 120 acres of cultivable land with access to state or national highways.The govt issued sanctions for the required staff and approved a budget of 123 crore per college for establishment. The proposed agriculture college at Dichpally is planned to offer a four-year undergraduate programme in agriculture with an annual intake of 120–150 students, which is expected to increase over time. Student strength is projected to reach about 1,000 within five to six years, based on an estimated intake of 250 students per year, including a proposed postgraduate programme.Planned facilities and activities include a research farm; a seed farm for the production of high-quality seed of different crops; a student farm for experiments and practical classes; a model farm for technology demonstrations to farmers; a botanical garden; a farmers’ block for training programmes; and student amenities such as hostels, a sports complex, an indoor stadium, a library, a health clinic, a gymnasium and a canteen.The agriculture university report to be submitted to the state on Friday notes that in some districts and non-crop areas, the cultivable land area is more than 15%. This is particularly the case in districts such as Ranga Reddy, where many cultivable land parcels were converted into layouts but construction did not commence.
