Former Union Minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu demanded that the proposed Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Odisha be established on land acquired by Tata Steel in Ganjam district. Tata Steel had acquired the land for its mega steel project which is now shelved.
The State government should press upon Tata Steel to become a partner for establishment of this institute in Ganjam district on Public Private Participation (PPP) mode, Mr. Sahu said. He has written to the Union HRD Minister, Smriti Irani, regarding it.
Recently, the Central Government had announced establishment of 20 new IIITs in different parts of the country on PPP mode. Under this proposal, the Central government will provide Rs. 54 crore and the State government will give Rs. 45 crore and 50 acres of land. The balance would be spent by the private entity.
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Odisha has one IIIT in Bhubaneswar.
Mr Sahu said that of 2,970 acres of land acquired by Tata Steel in Ganjam district, 400 acres would be used for its ferro chrome plant. “The company can provide 50 acres of its acquired land for the IIIT project as well as become a partner in the project.