CJI to inaugurate Preamble Park, perform ground breaking for new NU School of Law on June 28
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Nagpur: Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai will inaugurate the historic world-class multi-crore Preamble Park at Nagpur University's Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar School of Law on Amravati Road on June 28.
The CJI will also perform the ground-breaking ceremony of a new iconic multi-storeyed building for the School of Law.
The CJI will arrive for his three-day visit to Nagpur on June 27. This is his first visit after taking oath of the highest judicial office. On the first day of his tour, the District Bar Association (DBA) will felicitate the CJI, and on June 28, the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) will honour him. CJI Gavai will formally inaugurate the administrative building of MNLU at Waranga at 10.30am on June 29.
The Rs10-crore first-of-its-kind Preamble Park consists of replicas of the Supreme Court and Parliament, along with a 7.5 ft statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar, an amphitheatre, murals, and an aesthetic gate, which took several years to complete. The country's first Samvidhan Park or Constitution Preamble Park was planned on the 125th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar in 2016, and bhoomipuja was performed by then guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on the occasion of Constitution Day in 2019.
Lack of funds, permissions, and coordination between multiple govt agencies and NU officials delayed the project over the years.
The social welfare department funded around Rs2 crore, while social worker Girish Gandhi, former mayor Anil Sole, and former MP Ajay Sancheti, Prakash Gajibhiye contributed Rs5 lakh each for the project. NU also paid Rs2 crore. School of Law director Ravishankar Mor told TOI that the CJI would be inaugurating the Preamble Park as well as laying the foundation of a new iconic building at 11am on June 28.
The transformation of the historic college, earlier known as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Law College, is part of its centenary year celebration. The college has a legacy of stalwarts including former CJI Sharad Bobde, PV Narsimha Rao, CM Devendra Fadnavis and several judges and politicians passing out from here. The NU merged its postgraduate law department with the college to disseminate UG to PhD education under one roof, aligning with NEP 2020.
Mor said the new building would be unique among all the Schools of Law in the country. The project is estimated to cost Rs200 crore, with a five-storey academic block to come up on the open land behind the existing college building. Special focus has been given to aesthetics, as the new building will be modelled on structures like the RBI, high court, and GPO. It will have two large auditoriums, besides modern curved classrooms equipped with the latest technology.
Three-floor basement parking will accommodate 5,000 cars, while the academic block will have five floors.
"A litigation complex will be attached to the School of Law on the lines of a medical college with a hospital. Courts and tribunals like grievance cells and consumer forums will run from this complex. Students will get first-hand experience of court functioning and will be trained for litigating as well as the corporate world," said Mor.
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