Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday, 12 July 2026, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several key projects worth Rs 7 crore 58 lakh at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJUS&T) in Hisar, Haryana. The developments span cultural memorials, a new academic block, and a modern residential facility for women students.

What was inaugurated

The Chief Minister's Office of Haryana announced that CM Saini unveiled three completed projects on campus: the Khejarli Mahabalidan Smriti Shilp (a commemorative sculpture honouring the 1730 Khejarli sacrifice), the Mata Amrita Devi Circle, and the newly constructed Nursing Department building. He also laid the foundation stone for a modern girls' hostel to serve the university's women students.

The official post read: 'lokarpit evam shilanayas kiya' — meaning the projects were both dedicated to the public and formally initiated — underscoring the dual nature of the event, which combined ribbon-cutting with groundbreaking in a single visit.

Context: Khejarli and Mata Amrita Devi

The Khejarli Mahabalidan refers to a defining moment in 1730 in present-day Rajasthan, when 363 Bishnoi villagers led by Mata Amrita Devi Bishnoi gave their lives to protect Khejri trees from being felled on royal orders. The event is widely regarded as one of the earliest instances of community-driven environmental protection in the Indian subcontinent.

Installing a memorial sculpture and naming a circle after Mata Amrita Devi within a science and technology university campus carries symbolic weight, linking modern technical education to a centuries-old tradition of ecological consciousness rooted in the region's cultural memory.

Policy backdrop: GJUS&T and Haryana's higher-education push

Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology was established by the Haryana government in 1995 with a mandate to expand access to technical and scientific higher education in the state. Located in Hisar, the university serves students from across the region in disciplines including engineering, management, pharmacy, and nursing.

Haryana governments have periodically directed funds toward campus infrastructure upgrades, often pairing functional construction — classrooms, hostels, department buildings — with cultural installations that reflect local heritage. The Rs 7.58 crore package announced on Sunday follows this established pattern.

Stakeholders and impact

The new Nursing Department building is expected to directly benefit students enrolled in nursing and allied health programmes, providing dedicated academic infrastructure for a field that has seen growing enrolment. The girls' hostel, once complete, will expand on-campus accommodation for women, addressing a persistent need at residential universities in Haryana.

Female students and nursing trainees stand to gain the most from these additions, which align with a broader state-level emphasis on improving women-focused facilities in public higher-education institutions.

What's next

Attention will now turn to the construction timeline and operationalisation of the girls' hostel, the completion of which will determine the practical impact of Sunday's foundation-stone laying. Follow-up announcements on additional campus projects may emerge during subsequent state budget sessions or at the university's annual convocation. The Khejarli memorial and Mata Amrita Devi Circle, having been inaugurated, are expected to be open to the campus community immediately.