Vijayawada: The Alumni Association of PG department of Legal Studies and Research (AAPGDLS&R) of Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) has voluntarily decided to construct a National Legal Research Centre (NLRC) on the campus. The novel idea was mooted by a former student of the law department and he has pooled up the alumni members, shared his idea with them.

Taking a cue from Mahesh Babu-starrer 'Sreemantudu', all the Alumni members came forward to contribute and the ANU also responded positively by offering them 50 cents of land on the campus. Chandu Sreenivasa Rao, an academician by profession and a former law student, had a dream of doing his LLM on the campus and by the time he has completed his BL, in 2004, there were no facilities to organise thesis work for the completion of LLM on the campus.
This shortcoming has driven him to reach the Indian Law Institute (ILI), New Delhi, where he saw several students from AP coastal region struggling to do their thesis work.

Soon after setting up a school in his native village, Mr. Rao has taken the initiative to form an Alumni Association of Law, with the support of ANU Vice-Chancellor Prof. A. Rajendra Prasad and HoD-Law, Prof. L. Jayasree. His batchmates and practising advocates- Narra Sreenivasa Rao, Y. Nagi Reddy and Gochipata Sreenivasa Rao extended help to give shape to the association. Later, they approached the V-C for land and the ANU executive council had sanctioned 50 cents of land free of cost to set up the NLRC.

The project, worth Rs 6 crore, will accommodate a library, digital library, conference halls, guest accommodation rooms, research facilities for advocates and legal fraternity in the AAPGLS&R centre, said Mr. Chandu Sreenivasa Rao, secretary, AAPGDLS&R. "Now, law students from both the Telugu states can do their research work here without any hassles," Mr. Rao said and thanked all his seniors and batchmates for promising to contribute to the project.

Justice N.V. Ramana of the Supreme Court is the first batch law student of ANU. Another Supreme Court Judge Justice Lavu Nageswara Rao was also a student of ANU. Apart from these two, 30 other judges working in both the Telugu states would also join in contributing for the building, said Mr. Rao.