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Putting an end to the protracted suspense over site selection for the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Odisha, the Union government today approved setting up of the elite institute at Sambalpur in western part of the state.
The site was approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The cabinet also gave its nod for five other new IIMs announced last year.
Apart from Samablpur, the other locations are Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Amritsar (Punjab).
"These IIMs will begin functioning from assigned temporary campuses and shift to their permanent locations after construction of their campuses. It is intended that these six new IIMs will commence their first academic session from 2015-16", read a PIB (press information bureau) release.
Each institute will start with an intake of 140 students in the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) courses. It is expected that the annual intake will increase to reach a level of 560 students each year by the end of seven years, added the release.
The PGP in management would be the flagship programme in these institutes and admission to the programme will be done through the open and competitive Common Admission Test (CAT) being conducted by the IIMs.
The site selection for establishment of the premier institute in the state had snowballed into a political debate after intellectual forums from different parts of the state, especially from northern, western and southern Odisha, demanded its location in their respective areas.
A Central team had initially zeroed in on Bhubaneswar for setting up of the campus of the new IIM as it was found to be most suitable as per the site selection guidelines. However, soon demands were raised by citizens of other important cities to locate the IIM in their area citing concentration of several premier institutes in Bhubaneswar and pleading for equitable development of different geographical regions.
Anticipating severe protest ahead of municipal polls in key western Odisha cities, the state government later requested the Union Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) to also consider Sambalpur as another option for establishing Odisha campus of IIM following HRD minister Smriti Irani's letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seeking his views on the issue.
In reply, Patnaik had said that his government would strongly recommend Sambalpur as the site for IIM, if the Centre was ready to relax its guidelines.
On June 20, a four-member central team came on two-day visit to the state and inspected the sites of proposed permanent and temporary campuses in Sambalpur.
"I am delighted that the central government has agreed to our proposal to set up the IIM in Sambalpur. This will go a long way in promoting excellent education institutions in western Odisha," said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
"I thank Union minister for HRD on behalf of the state for the decision. We are committed to provide all kind of support for the establishment of the IIM. The ministry had asked for better road connectivity and broad band connection to the campus and we will do the needful," said Sanjay Kumar Das Burma, state minister for Employment and Technical Education &. Training Employment, Technical Education and Training (ETET).
