New Indian Express: IIT must for Orissa - Naveen

IIT must for Orissa: Naveen
Wednesday May 16 2007 11:08 IST

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday lodged a strong protest against the Centre�s neglect towards the State in the education sector and flayed its decision not to set up an IIT in Orissa.

Naveen, who met HRD Minister Arjun Singh in this connection in New Delhi, demanded that the Centre should sanction an IIT for the State as it does not have a single institution of national importance.

Other demands included a Central university for the KBK region and an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the State. Singh promised that the demand for setting up an IIT would be considered while finalising the proposals for his Ministry for the 11th Five-Year Plan.

The Bhubaneswar unit of BJD staged a dharna in front of the Raj Bhawan on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding establishment of an IIT in Orissa.

Criticising the decision of the Centre, president of Bhubaneswar unit of the party Prakash Chandra Bastia alleged that the IIT project was shifted to Andhra Pradesh despite the State Government giving its consent to allot 400 to 500 acres of land.

The proposal of the State Government to have a campus of IIT, Kharagpur, has also been abandoned despite availability of 300 acres of land.

New Indian Express: Blame it on poor lobbying for IIT loss

Blame it on poor lobbying for IIT loss
Thursday May 10 2007 14:17 IST

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the BJD-BJP MPs staged a dharna in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday protesting Centre�s rejection of Orissa�s demand for establishment of a new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), lack of hard lobbying by the State seems to have been its undoing.

If sources in the HRD Ministry are to be believed the State Government failed to press hard enough for the prestigious institute which ultimately went to Andhra Pradesh.

Apart from writing a few letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and HRD Minister Arjun Singh on the issue, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik did little else.

Neither Patnaik nor his Cabinet colleagues ursued the matter as aggressively as other States, the sources said.

Not a single letter of the Chief Minister or the Industries Department requesting for establishment of an IIT in the State has ever been referred to the department of the Ministry concerned.

No State Government representative had ever inquired on the developments on the front. The case is exactly opposite with other States.

Not only officers but also Ministers of other states were frequently visiting the Ministry to lobby for their region. Their approach was business-like. This is the second instance in which the UPA Government has ignored the State�s interest.

The first one being the Indian Institute of Science which was relocated to West Bengal.

Although the Board of Directors of IIT, Kharagpur has approved for its extension centre here, the proposal is hanging fire in the HRD Ministry because of the proposed capacity expansion of IITs and IIMs to accommodate OBC students.

This despite the fact that the State Government has already announced 300 acres of free land for the institution.

Accusing the UPA Government of double standards, the Chief Minister told mediapersons that the Centre has done great injustice to the State by ignoring its rightful demand.

He will continue to pressurise the Centre for establishment of an IIT and IIM in the State, he added.

IIT for Orissa: NDA stages walkout

Express News Service

Posted online: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 at 0000 hrs

NEW DELHI, MAY 8: Standing up for Orissa’s demand for an Indian Institute of Technology, the BJP-led NDA members staged a walkout on the issue in the Lok Sabha as the Government said there were no plans for setting up the technical institute in the state.

The walkout took place after the matter was raised in a calling attention motion in the afternoon session on Tuesday, where BJD and BJP members—among them B K Tripathy, B Mahtab, K Swain, Prasanna Acharya and Dharmendra Pradhan—pointed out that despite a demand for the institute in Orissa, an IIT had not been set up.

The agitated Opposition members even warned that with its coal and iron ore deposits, Orissa could disrupt power supply to other states, but people in the state believed in cooperation.

Tripathy, the BJD’s leader in the House, claimed the state had fallen victim to politicking even though, according to him, the need to set up an IIT in Orissa had been proposed in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Besides, IIT Kharagpur had approved the setting up of a full-fledged campus in the state, for which the Orissa government had promised to give land free of cost. “Will a greenfield IIT be located in the state? Why is there politicking? This is nasty politics,” Tripathy said, adding that an IIM should also be set up in the state.

Replying to the calling attention, Minister of State for Human Resources D Purandareswari said while every state would want an IIT, which was a global brand, three regions had been identified on the basis of a report presented C N R Rao. Under those proposals, the IIT in the eastern region would be set up in Bihar.

Regarding the proposal from IIT Kharagpur, she said the expansion would entail huge monetary commitment and it had been decided by the government that it should instead “consolidate” the other IITs. “We haven’t accepted the proposal of IIT Kharagpur,” the Minister said.

As she proceeded to read out a list of educational institutions in the state that were receiving Central assistance—it was in answer to criticism that the state was being discriminated against—the NDA members began protesting, claiming the assistance was paltry. At this BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra rose to say, “There has been injustice against Orissa,” and led the NDA camp in a walkout.

State urges Centre for IIT: The New Indian Express

State urges Centre for a central tribal university
Thursday April 12 2007 12:01 IST

BHUBANESWAR: Higher Education Minister Samir Dey has urged the Centre to approve the State Government's proposal for establishment of a central tribal university in the KBK region.

Addressing a meeting of education ministers in New Delhi on Wednesday, Dey said the proposed central university will immensely benefit the deprived and backward pockets of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh having large concentration of tribal population.

Reiterating the State's demand for establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), the Minister said the vibrant growth in the industrial and technical sectors in Orissa provides enormous potential for industry- institution linkage.

An IIT will facilitate the process which is of critical importance to make the industry globally competitive.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has already requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for upgrading the extension counter of IIT Kharagpur into a full-fledged campus, the Minister reminded and added the State Government has already provided 300 acres of cost-free land for the project.

He also demanded that the NISER set up by the Department of Atomic Energy be upgraded to the rank of IISc, Bangalore.

There is a great need of opening courses in oceanography and marine engineering in colleges and universities considering the long coastline of the State.

The few institutes that are offering such courses are facing financial constraint for infrastructure development and curricula upgrade. Financial assistance from the Centre is needed for opening such courses in more colleges and universities, he added.

Although a National Law University was originally planned to be established in the State, this was shifted to West Bengal after the UPA Government assumed power.

The State Government is going to introduce a Bill in the next session of the Assembly for setting up of a National Law University for which it needs substantial financial help from the Centre, he said.

Underlining the measures taken by the State Government to improve the standard of higher education despite resource constraints, Dey strongly pleaded for generous central assistance.

The UGC should take up accreditation of colleges in the State by the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NACC) on a priority basis and provide infrastructure support to them, he said.

Dey demanded central assistance for establishment of an Academic Staff College for the teachers at the Plus Two level.

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New Indian Express: Citizens take to streets, demand IIT for State

Citizens take to streets, demand IIT for State
Monday April 9 2007 10:31 IST

BHUBANESWAR: Jolted by the Centre's move to deny Orissa an IIT, hundreds of people from various walks of life on Sunday took out a rally here protesting the decision. They submitted a memorandum to President APJ Abdul Kalam. It was organised by Agami Odisha, an apolitical platform of eminent scientists, educationists and social activists.

The Centre's move has not only saddened the people but has also robbed the State of its rightful claim, rued working president of the forum Lalit Pattnaik.

The Government had stated its intention to set up the next set of IITs in backward States and had picked Orissa as one of the prospective places. But it went back on its promise and instead gifted an IIT to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, however, got their due share, he remarked.

The decision not only created uproar in the State, but also created fear among the people that other schemes like upgrading UCE Burla into Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology might never be realised.

While the Chief Minister shot off a protest letter to the Centre against the decision, many were surprised over its meek response in the following days.

Today when the Centre has sanctioned Rs 400 crore for the new IITs, Pattnaik said, Orissa should build up a mass movement to extract its claim.

We would transform this by creating awareness among the people in every nook and corner of the State, he said.

Sunday's rally coincided with the IIT entrance examination.

Across the country some 2.5 lakh appeared for the test, being held for the first time under the revised format.

IIT shift: Ruling combine takes a dig at Centre

IIT shift: Ruling combine takes a dig at Centre
The New Indian Express, Friday March 30 2007 11:35 IST

BHUBANESWAR: BJD and BJP members on Thursday came down heavily on the Centre for ignoring the State’s demands in the education sector.

Criticising the Centre for shifting the proposed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to the neighbouring state, they said political parties should start economic blockade to press for Orissa’s demands.

They also demanded that a House Committee, headed by Speaker Maheswar Mohanty, should visit New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demand establishment of an IIT in the State.

The issue cropped up during discussion on a Calling Attention notice. Replying to the discussion, Industries Minister Biswabhusan Harichandan also criticised the Centre’s attitude.

Stating that the issue has been taken up with the Centre several times, Harichandan maintained that the State Government will continue to put pressure on the Centre for establishment of an IIT in Orissa.

The Government had also informed the Centre about availability of land for establishment of an extension counter of IIT, Kharagpur near Bhubaneswar, he said.

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New Indian Express: Orissa poised for mass movement

Orissa poised for mass movement
Thursday February 8 2007 11:32 IST

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa being given a short shrift by the Centre on the development front might be a common issue but frequent instances of shifting projects from the State to others have raised heckles among the people.

The Human Resource Development Ministry’s recent approval for setting up three more Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Rajasthan, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh bypassing Orissa, which was named as a beneficiary state only last year, is once again poised to lead to a mass movement.

HRD Minister of State MAA Fatmi in August last year had announced that the proposal for establishing IITs in Bihar, Orissa and one Western Indian state would be included in the 11th Five-Year Plan. But the decision was changed and the one proposed for Orissa was handed over to AP.

According to sources, Orissa is most deserving for allocation of an IIT not only in consideration of the industrial boom, ensuing requirement of quality technical personnel, support for technical colleges but more importantly for it figures among the bottom three states in the Ministry’s spending list. Rajasthan and Bihar are the other two.

As per the 2006-07 budget, the MHRD’s per capita spending on higher education institutions plus institutions of national importance in Orissa is only Rs 4.07, while in Rajasthan and Bihar it’s Rs 2.59 and Rs 1.87 respectively.

Reason: These states have the least number of HRD Ministry-funded institutions. Thus these states need more focused attention subjected to development initiatives.

Establishment of the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) cannot be counted against an IIT because it’s funded by the Ministry of Atomic Energy and not HRD.

Besides, the other States are beneficiaries of multiple institutions of national importance. Bihar and AP, each would have new National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER).

AP would also have an Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) while two universities, Osmania University College of Engineering and Andhra University College of Engineering have been short listed for up gradation to IIT status and called Indian Institutes of Engineering Science and Technology.

Thus, taking into account the emerging conditions in Orissa that necessitate quality institutions to churn out personnel, the Union HRD Ministry should sanction an IIT to the State, noted academician and professor of Arizona State University Chitta Baral said.