Samaja, Sambada, Dharitri and New Indian Express report that the CM wrote to the PM regarding the shifting of IIT

The NewIndianExp article is given below. This is also reported in Pioneer, Samaja, Sambada, Kalinga Times and Dharitri (2).

CM writes to PM demanding greenfield IIT
Thursday February 1 2007 00:00 IST

BHUBANESWAR: Taking strong exception to the reported move of the Centre to shift the establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) from Orissa to Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that a greenfield IIT should be sanctioned for the State.

The Centre had announced establishment of three greenfield IITs in the country during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Orissa was included in this proposal, which was also announced by Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development MM Fatmi on August 28 last year at Patna.

Describing the move by the Centre to establish the IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan as ‘shocking’, the Chief Minister has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister in setting up such an institute in Orissa.

Establishment of an IIT would go a long way in supporting the rapid industrial growth in the State by producing highly qualified technical and managerial personnel as well as the much needed R&D support, he said.

Drawing the Prime Minister’s attention to the proposal of the IIT, Kharagpur for the upgradation of their extension centre in Orissa to a full-fledged IIT campus, Naveen said that the State Government has also formally recommended the proposal to the Ministry of HRD and conveyed willingness to provide 300 acres of land free of cost for the prestigious project. He requested the Prime Minister to sanction the extension campus also.

Stating that the vibrant growth in the industrial and technical education sectors provides enormous potential for industry and institutional linkages, Naveen said that establishment of an IIT in Orissa will greatly facilitate in intensifying this process.

Orissa is playing host to the biggest ever FDI projects in the country such as Posco and Arcelor-Mittal steel projects, he said and added that presence of such strong industrial players will definitely provide required synergy for an IIT level institution to realise its full potential.

Sambada on 29th Jan 2007 reports regarding conspiracy to shift IIT from Orissa

See http://iits.11thplan.googlepages.com/20070129sambadaiit.pdf
(In Oriya)

Point - Counterpoint

The grapevine is that some officials and politicians brought up the issue that since Orissa is being given NISER, the IIT should go to another state and as a result the initial decision to have a new IIT in Orissa, which was announced by the Union minister of state for HRD MAA Fatmi on 28-8-06, was changed.

If indeed such a logic was used, Orissans should illustrate the following faults with that logic:

1. NISER is funded by Dept. of Atomic Energy, not by MHRD. If one were to take into accounts other institutes that are not funded by MHRD with respect to Orissa then one must take into account this for the other states too.
   
1. For example, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh each will have a new NIPER (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) like institute that are being established by the Ministry of fertilizer and Chemicals. The other states where these institutes will be established are Gujarat and West Bengal.
2. Similarly, Indian Institute of Public Health have been proposed to be established in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, UP, Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat and West Bengal.
2. In 2006 two institutes of Andhra Pradesh (Osmania University College of engineerin and Andhra University College of Engineering) and three others (IT-BHU, CUSAT, BESU) were shortlisted for upgradation to IIT cousin status and were designated to be called IIEST (Indian Institute of Engineerin Science and Technology.)
3. Needless to say, we are happy when new institutes are established in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and for that matter any other state of India. But why must Orissa be at the receiving end all the time? Why must MHRD and planning commissions buy faulty logic given by others to deprive Orissa of MHRD institutes ?
   

Odisha.com: MHRD's stepmotherly attitude towards Orissa (In Oriya)

See http://www.odisha.com/20070127/fullstory/IIT.html
(In Oriya, Internet Explorer browser works better with the font)

Orissa may lose IIT to Andhra Pradesh

Orissa may lose IIT to Andhra Pradesh

Pioneer News Service | Bhubaneswar
(Originally posted at
http://dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=BHUBANESWAR&file_name=bhub6%2Etxt&counter_img=6)


... as HRD requests Planning Commission to include three new IIT's in 11 Five-Year Plan

It seems that some nasty politics is overshadowing the decision of setting up of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Orissa. Union Minister for Human Resources Development Arjun Singh, a diehard Congress leader, seems determined not to oblige the BJD-led Government in the State to take the political mileage for setting up an IIT in the State.

The HRD Ministry has requested the Planning Commission to include three new IITs in the Eleventh-Plan period. The budget of each new IIT may be as high as Rs 4,000 crore, sources said. Union Minister of State for HRD MAA Fatmi, during the inaugural ceremony of a new experiment of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in Patna, has said, "The proposal for IITs for Orissa and a western State, besides an IIT for Bihar, will be included in 11th Five-Year Plan."

The mention of Bihar and Orissa in the context of IIT makes sense as both States are in the bottom three (the other being Rajasthan) of HRD Ministry spending with respect to fully centrally funded higher education institutions and neither of them has an HRD-funded IIT, IIM, Central University, IISER, etc. The mention of two IITs in Orissa probably referred to a new IIT and a proposal for a branch or extension of IIT Kharagpur in Bhubaneswar.

However, even though the 11th Plan proposal is not yet finalised, confidential inquiries reveal that the three new IITs will be in Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. And accordingly, the HRD Ministry has sent letters to the concerned State Governments. Moreover, reports also mention that the plans for branch campuses have been stalled.

Despite being at the bottom of the HRD funding, Ministry always skips over Orissa. Earlier, a proposed National Institute of Sciences in Bhubaneswar was shifted to Kolkata, despite protests from people all over the State and its representatives in Parliament roaring over the HRD Ministry's antipathy. Ultimately, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to come to the State's rescue as he granted it an NISER to be funded by the Department of Atomic Energy.

Now, the HRD Ministry has once again overlooked Orissa with respect to the IITs. This time, it seems Orissa is superseded by the Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh, which, earlier in the year, was awarded not one but two upgrades to IIT cousins. Andhra University Engineering College and Osmania University Engineering College were earlier included in the list to be upgraded as IIESTs (Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology). Thus, Andhra gets a new IIT and two IIT-like institutions funded by the HRD Ministry.

The people of Orissa in general and non-resident Oriyas in particular have now reasons to believe that the HRD Ministry under Arjun Singh is nourishing personal grudge against the NDA-ruled State and trying to benefit the States run by the UPA partners.

TOI: Union minister of state for HRD MAA Fatmi's mention of IITs for Orissa in the 11th plan

PU may finally get Central varsity status

[ 29 Aug, 2006 0222hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

PATNA: The Centre has decided to open an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bihar besides an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT).

It has also decided to accord Central university status to one of the universities in the state, preferably Patna Univeristy.

The announcements were made by Union minister of state for HRD MAA Fatmi at the inaugural ceremony of a new experiment of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) called "On Demand Examination" here on Monday.

Fatmi said, "The proposal for one IIT for Bihar and two for Orissa and one Western Indian state besides one IIIT to Bihar will be included in 11th Five Year Plan". He said that five universities were being upgraded as Central universities of which one will be from Bihar. "The process for the upgrade has already started," he said.

The Union junior minister further said that Institute of Science are going to be opened in Kolkata, Pune and Punjab. In Kolkata, the foundation has already been laid, he added.

A bit critical of the state government, Fatmi said the Centre has allotted Rs 2400 crore under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

"Kasturba Gandhi Residential Schools for girls were sanctioned for 128 blocks of Bihar but so far only 62 have been established. A huge fund of Rs 1300 crore for construction of school buildings under SSA is lying with the state government," he said.

"The Centre is releasing funds in the name of SSA but the state government has changed the name of the scheme to Mukhyamantri Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan," he said adding they were not authorised to change the name. Similarly, funds have been provided for 4000 madarsas of Bihar under the innovative education scheme but only 400 have got the money so far, he said...

The "Jab Chaho Pariksha" scheme was formally inaugurated by railway minister Lalu Prasad, who said Patna is the third place where this scheme has been launched after Delhi and Pune. Under this scheme the children who could not appear in regular examinations and those who have failed can apply for examinations which would be arranged for them within 10 days.

About 550 such centres would be opened in the country and in Bihar it would be implemented even in the interiors.

The HRD minister also announced that four new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) would be opened in Madhubani, Sheohar, Supaul and Araria. As many as 13 KVs are already functioning in Bihar.

Lalu said Kasturba Gandhi Residential School Scheme is meant for girls belonging to minorities, Dalits and backwards where they are given stipends besides free accommodation and food.

He asked Fatmi to seek reports from all DMs regarding the implementation of the scheme.

"Speak to the CM and ask why various schemes of education are not being implemented despite provision of funds."

Earlier, NIOS chairman N C Pant introduced the scheme and welcomed the guests.