Karnataka ready to give 500 acres free of cost for setting up IIT

Govt to seek Rs 4,300 cr under RUSA for infra devt at higher education institutions

The Karnataka government has offered to provide 500 acres of land free of cost for setting up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in the state. The state government has already submitted its formal proposal to the Union ministry of human resources development, said R V Deshpande, minister for higher education.

Replying to debate on demand for grants for higher education in the state legislative assembly on Friday, Deshpande said, he was surprised to know about the statement of Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani that there was no proposal from the Karnataka government for sanctioning an IIT campus.

“I have personally met Irani and three other ministers from the state at the Centre and requested for the sanction of an IIT for Karnataka. Even the chief minister has written to the Prime Minister in this connection,” he said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech earlier this month said that the government would set up five new IITs this year in Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. He did not make a mention of sanctioning IIT for Karnataka even though the state’s proposal is pending for a long time.

“We have been deprived of an IIT in the state despite our repeated efforts,” Deshpande said.

Deshpande said, the state intends to send a proposal to the Central government for sanctioning Rs 4,300 crore under the Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) or National Higher Education Mission for development of infrastructure in degree colleges and universities.

The state cabinet approval would be taken next week and send the formal proposal to the Human Resources Development ministry, he said.

Under RUSA, one of the flagship programmes launched by the UPA government, it is proposed to spend Rs 1 lakh crore for modernisation of higher education in the country.

The minister said that the higher education department has undertaken several new programmes to improve the standards of education in government-aided colleges and universities in the state.

A Central University would be set up very soon at Karwar, he said adding that there are 30,000 families in the Naval base, which have sought the university.

Stating that no Indian university figures in the list of top 200 universities in the world, he said the government would take up measures to improve the standards of universities in the state. He said political interference in the appointment of vice chancellors is affecting the quality of education in state’s universities, he said.