There were 1,537 new proposed sites in the five-year destination plan from 2024 to 2029, out of which 1,499 places were qualified and the plan was approved, said Chandrakant Patil

Various locations for starting colleges and institutes for higher education have been identified in the non-agricultural university areas of the state, said officials.The five-year comprehensive plan from 2024 to 2029 for the determination of the sites was approved in a meeting of the Maharashtra State Commission for Higher Education and Development

(MAHED) on August 30 under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. According to the plan, 1,499 new colleges will start in the state this year.

The MAHED meeting was held at Sahyadri Guest House in the presence of state deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The five-year comprehensive plan from 2019 to 2024 included 1,059 sites and 3,193 new proposals were submitted to the commission by universities, out of which 2,819 site points were approved by ‘MAHED’, while 593 new colleges have been given final approval in the last five years.

Maharashtra has the highest number of universities and colleges in the country with ‘NAAC’ status, but ‘permanent unaided’ colleges also discussed the process of registration with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council to get National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) status.