Roadblocks in IIT-B progress

BHUBANESWAR: The IIT Bhubaneswar at Argul is facing a series of bottlenecks and unlikely to meet the 2013 deadline to complete the civil works. While the Government has not been able provide the required land to the institute, the infrastructure development is moving at a snail's pace. The IITB has been given advance possession of 595.52 acres as against the requirement of 935.44 acres.
While over 300 acres are forest land, only 149 acres of substitute land has been identified in Puri district. As the diversion proposal for the forest land is under process, the Khurda district administration is looking for 153 acres of land as a substitute to the forest land. The Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) is yet to acquire 16.21 acres of private land for the institute. As the IITB is way behind the schedule, the Ministry of Human Resources Development last week sought a fresh timeline from the Government last week. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday reviewed the progress of the IITB at a meeting here.