New IIT campuses should be ready by 2014: Sibal

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, who chaired a meeting of the directors and chairmen of the new institutes today, said the new campuses should be ready in the next four years even as problems of land acquisition continue to dog several of them.

Challenges like securing clearances from state governments for acquiring land were raised at the meeting, to which Sibal suggested that a meeting be held here next month that should also include concerned state government officials to expedite the acquisition process, sources said.

IIT Patna and IIT Bhubaneswar, though, received special mention for making a good headway in infrastructure related development, they said. Sibal also said his Ministry would move a Cabinet note on the issue of enhanced allocation of funds for campus development after the directors drew attention to cost escalation over the years.

The eight new IITs were set up between 2008 and 2009 in places like Ropar (2008), Bhubaneswar (2008), Gandhinagar (2008), Hyderabad (2008), Patna (2008), Jodhpur (2008), Mandi (2009) and Indore (2009), functioning from temporary campuses at present.

Sources said the issue of augmenting the faculty strength and pay packages were also discussed at the meeting. In this regard, it was decided that "topping up" of government approved salary can be done by the IITs from their own funds.

Some IITs also demanded new provisions which would enable professors of these new institutes draw salary equivalent to Additional Secretary so as to attract the best talents.

The Minister said he would seek Cabinet's consent to provide for the new provision. At present, the higher administrative grade scale (Rs 67,000-Rs 79,000) is applicable for 40 per cent of professors in the IITs.

The new IITs said they have been unable to implement this grade given the handful of faculty they have and suggested that the provision be amended so that the grade could be applicable on 40 per cent of the total sanctioned strength of the IIT.

The Minister also said he would take up the issue of problems faced by the IITs in getting clearance for receiving foreign endowments under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act with the Home Ministry.