The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved ₹4,371.90 crore for setting up permanent campuses for six National Institutes of Technology (NITs) that have been functioning from temporary structures after being set up in 2009, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet approved funds for the NITs in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Puducherry and Delhi, he said.
The then-government in 2009 established these NITs without adequate funds for land and buildings, he said. Each of the NITs had been given ₹250 crore each. The government had now taken a decision to correct this.
“These NITs were established in the year 2009 and started functioning from academic year 2010-2011 in their respective temporary campus with very limited space and infrastructure. The projects at the permanent campus could not be completed in the manner envisaged due to late finalisation of land required for construction and also the cost approved for construction works was far below the actual requirements,” a government statement said.
The revised cost estimates approved by the Cabinet would help NITs with capacity for 6,320 students getting their own permanent campuses by March 31, 2022, the statement said.
The Cabinet also approved the closure of Hindustan Fluorocarbons Limited, which Mr. Javadekar said had 88 employees and was functioning “on paper.” It also approved a proposal to designate Daman as the headquarter of the newly-merged Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. A model MoU for unilateral or bilateral recognition of certificates for seafarers was cleared, making Indian seafarers eligible to be placed on ships with the flag of the country with which an MoU is signed.
