Senior PDP leader Tariq Hameed Karra today demanded setting up of institutions of higher learning like IIT and IIM in the Valley for their "equitable" and "justifiable" distribution in Jammu and Kashmir.
"While Jammu region is within its right to ask for another AIIMS for the region, the people of Kashmir also have a right to press for setting up of institutions like IIT, IIM and IIMC which have been exclusively established in Jammu," Karra said in a statement here.
The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar said the state government should also revive the proposal of setting up of Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DAIICT), which was proposed to be setup at Ompora in district Budgam.
"The PDP-led coalition government had in 2003 decided to setup DAIICT at Ompora for which land was also identified. However, the proposal was in 2005 shelved due to unknown reasons. The present government should revisit the proposal and establish a DAIICT campus in Kashmir," he said.
Karra also demanded setting up of a separate Government Engineering College in Kashmir as there is no such facility available in the region following upgradation of the Regional Engineering College as National Institute of Technology.
He said in the absence of any large industry in Kashmir, unlike Jammu, the economy of the Valley can witness a turnaround only by setting up quality educational and technical institutions here.
"In fact Kashmir can come up as an educational hub by setting up various institutions in the Valley," he said.
Karra said given the distinct geographical, climatic and political scenario of the state's two regions, there has to be a parity of institutions in Jammu and Kashmir as inequalities in distribution of institutions and other key establishments only brews mistrust and alienation.
Karra said while he would meet the concerned ministers in the Government of India to press for establishment of IIT, IIM and IIMC in Kashmir, the state government should also move a formal proposal in this regard.
