Sunday, August 7 2005 12:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: The proposal for setting up an extension centre of Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) in the Bihar capital, to impart quality education, is stuck in a tug of war between the institute management and Government, on signing an accord.

The proposal for setting up an extension centre of the BIT, near Ranchi, was a brainchild of the erstwhile Rabri Devi Government as a majority of engineering colleges went to Jharkhand following bifurcation of Bihar. It received a boost when Governor Buta Singh took personal interest and asked the then Chief Secretary K A H Subramanian to hold meetings with the BIT authorities.

But the BIT (MESRA) put preconditions leading to doubts over the institute opening its extension centre from this academic year.

State Science and Technology Secretary, Rajesh Gupta, says the preconditions put by the management of BIT for signing the MoU for opening it's branch here might delay the project for which Bihar Government has already agreed to provide 20 acres of land and other infrastructure.

"It is unfortunate that the BIT administration is dictating terms to the state administration with respect to signing the MoU," Gupta said.

Gupta said the BIT authorities had made an advance of Rs 20 crore as a pre-condition for opening the institute, "Though we had decided to help facilitate start of the session from the current year temporarily using the A N Sinha Institute of Social and Economic Research Campus here."

"We have promised to make part payment of the fund sought by the BIT management at the outset and release the remaining amount soon but the institute's management is sitting over the MoU already sent to it by us," Gupta said.

The BIT authorities, however, described as 'half-truth,' the statement of the state officials on the issue of opening the extension centre.

"BIT is not interested in promoting business but the growth of technical education in this part of the country. It is not the BIT but the Bihar Government that is not interested in giving a final shape to the project," they say.

"If the Rs 40 crore is an exaggerated estimate for the kind of facilities and infrastructure that BIT has proposed, the Government can get the same created by any other agency or the Science and Technology Department of the State," BIT Vice Chancellor, Prof S K Mukherjee, was reported to have said.