New Delhi:
In a major expansion plan, IIT Guwahati has proposed to augment its infrastructure to double its students intake capacity by 2012.
The IIT, set up in 1994, has submitted a proposal of Rs 300 crore to the government for creation of facilities to increase its students' strength to 4,000 from the current 2,100.
",We have submitted a proposal to the HRD Ministry recently and are waiting for its approval. There will be a huge expansion of facilities like buildings, labs, hostels, equipments and other required amenities,", its director Gautam Barua told PTI.
The proposed increase in students' capacity would include the 54 per cent rise in seats aimed at implementing the 27 per cent OBC quota by 2010.
The IIT-Guwahati made this proposal in response to a call by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year to the IITs and IIMs, which are endowed with land and have potential to expand, to explore the possibility of increasing students' capacity by three fold.
After Prime Minister's appeal, the HRD ministry had written to IITs to submit proposals if they could expand the facilities and increase the students' strength.
IIT Guwahati has about 700 acres of land of which 550 acres could be used for expansion.
The institute is also aiming to achieve a three-fold increase in students intake capacity by 2017.
",That is the long-run plan and we aim to have a students' capacity of 6,000 by the end of 12th Plan,", Barua said.
Similarly, IIT-Kanpur and IIT-Kharagpur have plans to increase their students' strength.
",We have 1,100 acres of land with a students' strength of 3,810. We have the potential to increase it by two and half times,", its director Prof S G Dhande said.
IIT Kharagpur has also expressed its ability to increase the students' intake capacity up to three fold in due course of time. The institute has about 1700 acres of land with a students' strength of 7,000.
These institutes are also exploring running of hostels inside and outside their campuses on public-private partnership mode.