ALBANY, N.Y. — A state redevelopment agency is urging New York’s top court to approve its use of eminent domain so Columbia University can expand its campus over 17 acres in West Harlem.

Empire State Development Corp. attorney John Casolaro says the Court of Appeals should overturn a lower court and conclude that education constitutes a proper public purpose for the state to take land. That includes when it goes to a private institution, as in the case of Columbia’s $6.3 billion project.

Norman Siegel, the lawyer representing other land owners, claims collusion between the school and the agency, argued at a hearing Tuesday that ESDC’s finding that the area is blighted was based on vermin, garbage and mold in buildings owned by Columbia. He said the university shouldn’t be rewarded with forced sales of others’ property.