Early Times Report
jammu, Nov 12: The much-hyped Indian Institute of Technology to be established in Jammu division of the state seems to be hitting a roadblock, with the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development yet to approve a full-fledged funding for the project.
As per official documents in possession of Early Times, forest land measuring 159 hectares at Jagti Nagrota was identified for the establishment of the IIT. It was informed further that the construction work shall be initiated after the release of funds by the MHRD. However, the state government hasn't revealed whether any funds have been released by the MHRD so far and when shall the work begin on the vital project.
On October 14, 2016 a provision of Rs 1000 crore was kept for the IIT in Jammu region of the state in Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) worth Rs 80,000 crore, which was announced by PM Modi in November 2016 at a rally in Srinagar.
It was informed at that time that the funds would start flowing in initially for running the IIT from temporary campus, followed by construction of its own campus in Jammu.
"Little interest was shown by the previous government in pursuing the approval of the funds from the MHRD so that the work on the project would have been started. There is no forward movement and the work is going at a snail's pace, which reflects that the helmsmen here prioritise rhetoric over reality and are hell-bent on making the vital projects a flop show," says an official privy to development, adding that the status of the ongoing work on IIT is in limbo.
Early Times has already reported that mere 8.5 percent of funds have been utilised out of the total sanctioned amount that has been utilised for the establishment of IIT in Jammu. The documents reveal that out of the whopping Rs 1000 crores sanctioned under Prime Minister's Economic Package for the IIT establishment in Jammu, mere 85 crore has so far been utilised on ground by the Jammu and Kashmir government. It puts the total percentage of the funds utilised as 8.5 percent.
The IIT Jammu came into existence in 2016 when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Department of Higher Education, Government of Jammu & Kashmir and Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, was signed, setting the ball rolling to set up an IIT campus at village Jagti, Tehsil Nagrota at Jammu.
However, as two years have passed since the IIT Jammu was announced to be established, the government here seems to have been undermining the importance of establishing the institute in Jammu. |
