Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 | Posted by NVO Bureau

Himachal demands setting up Indian Institute of Information Technology

joshi New Delhi: Chief Minister Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal has urged the Centre to include Himachal Pradesh for setting up an IIIT (Indian Institute of Information Technology) under PPP (Public Private Partnership) mode in the State and offered to contribute Rs.15 crore as State share, 100 acres of land and other infrastructure required for setting up the institute.
The demand was made by Chief Minister Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal during the meeting with Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal at Shastri Bhawan New Delhi today. He told that the State had a large number of food processing and pharmaceutical units, and had a great potential for tourism and travel and suggested that the IIIT in the State should focus on Bioinformatics and Tourism & Travel. He told that Union Government had shown positive response to his proposal for IIIT in the State.
He pleaded for opening an IIM (Indian Institute of Management) in the State considering that the enrolment rate for higher education in the State is over 20 % which is double that of the national average and said that the State Government envisaged increasing this rate to 50 % in coming years. He said that having IITs for Himachal Pradesh should not come in the way of setting up an IIM in the State as some of the States which had been identified for locating the IIM during the current five year plan already had IITs functioning in those States.
Professor Prem Kumar Dhumal urged the Union Government to provide funding under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes to Himachal Pradesh on the pattern of North East States as Himachal Pradesh was one of the eleven Special Category States, He told that While a 90 : 10 funding pattern (i.e. 90 % by Government of India and 10 % by the State Government ) was being followed for the North Eastern States while Himachal Pradesh is being funded upto 75% or even lesser in various schemes like Rashtriya Madhaymik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA), Mid Day Meal and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for higher education. He requested the HRD Ministry to remove the discrimination amongst the Special Category States in providing funding under its Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
He told that Centre had agreed to set up five Polytechnics in the State in Kinnaur, Bilaspur, Sirmour, Lahaul Spiti and Kullu districts and would provide financial assistance of Rs. 2 crore for each polytechnic for infrastructural developments. He told that polytechnics at Rohru and Sundernagar would be upgraded with central funding. He told that three new women hostels would be constructed at Kangra, Kandaghat and Rohru Polytechnic Institutes. He told that Centre had agreed to provide financial assistance for setting up women hostels in degree colleges of the state and added that State Government would soon submit detailed proposal to the
Union Human Resource Ministry soon. He told that Centre had agreed to open new Central Schools at Bilaspur, Sirmour, Chamba and Una districts and has asked the State Government to find suitable sponsers to run these schools in the near future. He told that State Government was fully geared to implement the Right to Education Act in the State and necessary arrangements in this regard were being made by the State Government.
He also urged for fixing higher cost norms for civil works under CSS in the State in view of the difficult terrain and the higher construction costs in the hills as compared to the areas in the plains. He told that cost norms @ Rs.60,000 per kitchen shed are uniformly fixed through out the country for all Primary and Upper Primary schools under Mid Day Meal Scheme while the average cost of such a construction in Himachal Pradesh was around Rs. one lakh.
He also requested to waive off limits for civil works under Rashtriya Madhaymik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programmes for hill States and added that present guidelines of the HRD Ministry restrict the provisioning for the civil works only to the extent of 33 % of the total plan size.
Chief Minister underlined the need for providing incentives for better performing States and told that while about 50 % of the development blocks in the country were being covered for providing hostels for girls and model schools, only 5 out of the total 77 blocks in Himachal Pradesh were being covered under the scheme.
He said that instead of disincentivizing the State which were performing better in the field of education, the HRD Ministry should appropriately incentivize such States under the various schemes. He asked the Union Government to approve the site selection of Central University and also appoint Vice Chancellor for Central University.