Sources say few top-notch private institutes in Mumbai have raised objection to the government providing land and infrastructure to these universities.
These private institutes are said to be owned and managed by a few politicians. Georgia Tech University for instance, might be allotted a land in Aurangabad to set up its research centre in India. The university however, is said to be keen on acquiring a land in Mumbai or Pune to be in the proximity of the international airport. Other universities too might face a similar fate.
"The private players fear the fierce competition from the foreign universities and are thus discouraging the government from allotting a land to them in Mumbai or Pune. They are fighting it out with the ministry by calling it a preferential treatment to the foreign universities," said an official close to the development. Around 40 foreign universities have approached the Maharashtra government so far.