The Odisha government will request the Centre to name the upcoming Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Berhampur in the name of former chief minister Biju Patnaik.
"As the state will celebrate the birth centenary of Biju babu in 2016, it will be right to name the national institute in his name. Our department will propose the Centre after consulting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the matter," state technical education minister Sanjay Dasburma said here today.
The minister said this while inaugurating a three-storied building and laying foundation for its two more floors in the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) campus here, where the government has proposed to conduct the temporary campus of the new IISER.
Around Rs 4.70 crore was sanctioned for construction of the new floors with around 16,000 sqft area. Dasburma also reviewed the progress of the IISER.
The district administration has identified around 200-acres of land in Laoudigaon and 160 acres of land in Palur Hill for establishment of the prestigious national institute.
Expert teams of the Centre had visited both sites and the temporary campus on November 17, but the Centre was yet to give its final call.
"As per the condition of the Centre, we have selected the permanent and temporary campus promptly. The technical education department is also ready to provide all other necessary logistic support for the establishment of IISER here. We hope the Central government give its final nod soon," Dasburma said.
The state government had declared Berhampur for setting up of the IISER in August.
Classes at the premier institution would start from the 2016-17 academic year at the temporary campus. The government has also constituted a high-level committee to expedite the works.
State higher education minister Pradip Panigrahi and several other senior officials were present in the meeting.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced the establishment of IISERs in Odisha and Nagaland in his budget speech.
At present, there are five IISERs under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, located at Bhopal, Mohali, Pune, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.
