DW Bureau | Chandigarh, May 28 :  Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has offered free land in Panchkula for setting up both a temporary and permanent campus of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) of Gandhinagar. In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Chief Minister urged for a speedy approval of the project. According to the letter, which was shared with the media on Wednesday, the Haryana government had previously requested permission from the Union Home Ministry on November 15, 2022, through a demi-official letter for setting up NFSU campuses in Panchkula. The request was forwarded to the NFSU, which then formed a committee. 

The committee inspected the proposed land in Panchkula in August last year and submitted its report to the Home Ministry. The Chief Minister emphasised in his letter that the Haryana government is ready to provide the land for this project free of cost and requested the Home Ministry to grant approval at the earliest.  He highlighted that the initiative would not only boost forensic science education in Haryana but also create new opportunities for the state’s youth.  Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sumita Misra informed that the state is rigorously working towards becoming the first to fully implement the provisions of new criminal laws by issuing necessary notifications, guidelines, instructions, SOPs, boosting infrastructure and capacity of human resources of all the stakeholder departments i.e. police, prisons, prosecution and judiciary. 

Commenting on the project, she said, “The establishment of the National Forensic Sciences University will be a significant step for Haryana’s students, especially in the context of new criminal laws, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).”  She added that this institution will provide students with education in modern forensic techniques and judicial sciences, enabling them to contribute effectively to law enforcement and judicial processes. 

She said the state government is focusing on the modernisation of equipment, capacity building and infrastructure development. The State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) is speeding up DNA and forensic reports, particularly for sensitive cases. Some districts have shown outstanding results, i.e. Faridabad, Karnal, Dabwali, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Sirsa, and Rewari have performed well, with conviction rates of over 75 per cent, she added.