Sunday, October 29, 2006
Gandhinagar to have full-fledged IIT; Govt clears 300 acres land
| Gandhinagar to have full-fledged IIT; Govt clears 300 acres land | ||
| Express News Service | ||
| Gandhinagar, October 29: IT is going to be IIT-G. The Gujarat campus of IIT-Powai will be a full-fledged IIT, and not an extension of Powai. A piece of 300 acres of land, as demanded by the IIT-Powai board, has been cleared by the State education and revenue departments in Shahpur village, some three km from Gandhinagar. The sprawling IIT campus would add one more feather in the cap of Gandhinagar that is fast developing as a hub of higher education. |
‘‘We are just waiting for a nod from the Centre, and construction would be up and going in next six months. The project was conceived by the Chief Minister himself and the government has put it on fast track,’’ informed P Paneerval, Principal Secretary (Education).
Last week, the IIT-Powai board sent its proposal to the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development for the final nod to the new campus.
On a visit to meet the Chief Minister last month, IIT-Powai team had informed that the new campus would be a full-fledged IIT, and not an extension of Powai. The Gujarat campus would have 4,000-4,500 students, almost the same as Powai.
There will be emphasis on courses specific to the development of the State, like Marine and Ship Building, Textile Engineering, and Aeronautical Engineering.
Though the new campus would be ready only by 2008, IIT-G would start functioning from the Gandhinagar Engineering College campus on the Koba highway from April-June 2007. ‘‘Provisions are being made for faculty and holding of the Joint Entrance Exam here as well. We were earlier trying to take land in Ahmedabad, but later zeroed in on Gandhinagar for its excellent institutional development,’’ said a senior official of Education Department.
