Dhumal urges PM to speed up process of setting up IIT

Shimla, Jun 2 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to speed up the process of setting up an IIT in the state as it would benefit the students of the state and surrounding areas.

This follows Finance Minister P Chidambaram's announcement on the setting up of the institute during his visit to the state on October two last year, he told the Prime Minister.

Mr Dhumal said the state government was willing to provide all necessary facilities for the setting up of the IIT at a temporary location till infrastructure for it was created.

The institute could be started at NIT Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh) or IIT Roorkee (UP) for the time being, he added.

He sought the Prime Minister's intervention for the starting up of the IIT from this year as has been done in the case of other states.

He said the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Human Resources Development had informed the state about the decision, taken in principal, to set one of the new IITs during the eleventh plan in the state, provided it was able to identify 500-600 acres of land free of cost.

Subsequently, the state government has offered land measuring 530 acres in Mandi district for setting up of the prestigious institution, he added.

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