The page http://www.dcsem.gov.in/Page/Tender.htm has the following.
|
Sl.No.
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Name of Work
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Estimated
Cost
(Rs. In Lakhs)
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NIT No.
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Sale Period
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For Details
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|
1
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Construction of Academic Township , Sports Complex and Residential Township alongwith necessary Infra structure Facilities For National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) at Jatni, Khurda ORISSA.
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450
Crore
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DCSEM / CE (PCD) /NISER/A & R / PQ/07 / 2009 dt 30.11.2009.
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07-12-2009
To
24.12.2009
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Click Here
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Following is from the page reached by clicking the above link.
Government of India
Department of Atomic Energy
Directorate of Construction, Services & Estate Management
INVITATION FOR PREQUALIFICATION OF CONTRACTING AGENCIES
PQ No : DCSEM / CE (PCD) /NISER/A & R / PQ/07 / 2009 dt 30.11.2009
Director, Directorate of Construction Services & Estate Management (DCSEM), DAE, on behalf of the President of India, invites Pre-qualification applications from reputed, qualified, experienced and financially sound Engineering construction agencies for “Construction of Academic Township , Sports Complex and Residential Township alongwith necessary Infra structure Facilities For National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) at Jatni, Khurda ORISSA The proposed scope of work shall include Civil Construction works, Internal & External P.H., Fire Fighting, Internal Roads, Storm Water Drains, Rain Water Harvesting , Internal & External Electrical Works ,HVAC, and Development works etc. The works are listed below.
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S.N
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Description of Works
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Approximate Area
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1
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ACADEMIC TOWNSHIP Consisting of School of Sciences including Class Rooms, Administration, Library, Workshop, Auditorium Complex including Cafeteria, Lecture Hall Complex, Student Activity Centre, Other Facilities like Animal House, Green House and Bio Safety P3 Laboratory and Meditation Centre etc
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64,923/- Sq.m
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2
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SPORTS COMPLEX & AQUATIC FACILITIES
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2,000/- Sq.m
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3
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RESIDENTIAL TOWNSHIP Consisting of
Hostel complex of Double Occupancy Rooms for 800 Students and Single Occupancy Rooms for 1000 Students, Efficiency Apartments Type I & II , Residential Accommodation for Faculty/Staff of Type A to E, E1 & E3, Other Facilities such as Day care Centre, Primary & Higher Secondary School, Hospital 20 Bed, Shopping and Community Centre and Guest House etc
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1,06,913/- Sq.m
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The estimated cost for the work is projected to be Rs. 450 crore (approx). Time of completion is 36 months.
The interested agencies are required to furnish the following documents for consideration of issue of “Pre -Qualification Document” . Joint ventures are not accepted
a) Proof of registration with Government / Semi Government organisations like Railways, PWD, CPWD, MES etc. in appropriate class or having experience in carrying out similar type of works.
b) Annual turnover as per ITCC or Profit & Loss statement for the last 3 years
c) ‘PAN’ reference,
d) TIN reference,
e) Latest Bank Solvency Certificate
f) WCT registration certificate,
g) Performance Certificates;
h) List of similar works in hand and Works carried out by them for the last seven years indicating the Agency for whom executed, Value of work, Completion time : Stipulated & Actual or present position of the work.
i) List of Technical staff they possess.
j) List of construction plants, machinery & infrastructure facilities they possess.
Agencies fulfilling following criteria shall be eligible to participate:
(a) Experience of having successfully completed any of the following works during
last seven years ending 30-11-2009 :
(i) 3 similar works completed costing not less than Rs.180 crore each; or
2 similar works completed costing not less than Rs.270 crore each; or
1 similar work completed costing not less than Rs.360 crore
and
(ii) One completed work of any nature ( either part of (i) above or a separate one) costing not less than Rs. 180 crore with some Central/State Government/ Central Autonomous Body/ Central Public Sector Undertaking
(b) Bank Solvency Certificate of Minimum Value Rs.180 crore.
(c) Average Annual turnover during last 3 years ending 31.03.2009 should be
at least Rs.135 crore
Similar works means Development and Construction of Residential/Commercial / Institute / Office Buildings with RCC framed structure, including PH , Electrical, HVAC and development works
The value of works shall be brought to current costing level by enhancing the actual value of work at simple rate of 7% per annum : calculated from the date of completion to last date of receipt of applications for Pre-Qualification documents.
[d) Not having incurred any loss in more than 2 years during last 5 years ending
31-3-2009.
Pre qualification documents shall be issued from 07-12-2009 to 24.12.2009 between 11 00 hrs. & 16 00 hrs on all working days from the Office of Chief Engineer(PCD),DCSEM, DAE, 3rd Floor, V.S.Bhavan, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai – 94.Cost of the document (non refundable) shall be Rs.1500/- in cash if collected in person and Rs.2000/- if required by Post, by crossed Demand Draft drawn in favour of Accounts Officer, DCSEM, payable at Mumbai. Pre qualification documents if required by post shall be sent by Indian Speed Post only, at the agency’s risk. The documents shall be received in person only, up to 15 00 hrs on 05-01-2010 in the Office of the Chief Engineer (PCD) and shall be opened at 15 30 hrs on the same day. If any information furnished by the applicant is found incorrect at a later stage, they shall be liable to be debarred from tendering/taking up of work in DCSEM. The Department reserves the right to verify the particulars furnished by the applicant independently and reject any application without assigning any reason and to restrict the list of pre-qualified contractors to any number deemed suitable in case too many applications are received satisfying the basic Pre-Qualification criteria . Short listing of the agencies shall be subject to thorough verification of their credentials and inspection of works carried out by them, through a Technical Evaluation Committee of experts, constituted by DCSEM.
For further details please contact 022-25487320 & 25487324. Fax 022-25565362
Please click here to Download Pre Qualification Document
Our previous entry on NISER tender was at
https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1816. Earlier the budget for the construction was 290 crores. In this tender the amount seems to have been raised to 450 crores.
December 8th, 2009
Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.
After years of donkey work to set up a multi-disciplinary university in Odisha at an investment of Rs 150-200 crore, it has failed to take off. For last 4 years the technocrat is trying hard to set up the facility. Every thing was falling in line and the Government was moving with full speed to clear the ICFAI University Bill-2009 in the Odisha House.
However Opposition Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan played spoil sport.
While initiating discussion on the bill, lawmaker from Satyabadi charged the university is mired in controversy following a ruling by the Madras High Court for closure of the institute’s off-campus and study centres in Tamil Nadu. He also cited the ruling of the Andhra Pradesh High Court restraining ICFAI to award degree certificates.
Although the ICFAI was registered under Societies Act in 1984 in Andhra Pradesh for offering distance learning, it is yet to set up a university in the state. The society has two universities – one in Agartala and the other is at Dehra Dun. However, many off-campus and study centres of the two universities are operating in many states without approval of the University Grants Commission and respective governments.
ICFAI is also running an off-campus centre in Bhubaneswar also, which came to light.
Now the State Government has asked to close down the centre as it is running without the approval of the UGC.
The ICFAI authorities have been asked to file affidavit on this count, said an official.
With allegations coming to fore, even Chief Minister is also worried over the reputation of his government, said sources. When these allegations came out in the floor of the Assembly, Naveen Patnaik Government was on back foot. This is because the State Government signed the MOU with ICFAI on 20 March, 2007 without verifying the credentials. Samir Dey, the then Minister Higher Education was batting for the ICFAI University and took the lead in signing the MOU, said an officer.
However now things are different and Debi Prasad Mishra, Minister Higher Education has made it clear that unless ICFAI authorities clear the allegations against them, it is unlikely that bill will be taken up once again in the House.
So quietly the bill has been deferred for the next Assembly session, said an official.
While the bill is yet to be cleared, ICFAI has already identified 53 acres of land for the university. The land has been identified close to Sum Hospital on the outskirts of the city. Out of the total land area of 53 acres, ICFAI has got 11 acres of land registered for the university project. Now with the bill being dumped, fate of the proposed private university hangs in balance.
The article at http://www.careers360.com/news/3437-ICFAI-avoid-till-they-come-clean seems to give a clear picture of the mess ICFAI has gotten itself into.
My suggestion to ICFAI would be to start the various colleges in Orissa with appropriate permission. I.e., if it wanted to start an engineering college and management school then it should do that with AICTE approval and under BPUT. Similarly for medical, nursing, journalism, etc.; whatever it had plans for. Only after it has them up and running and with quality faculty, top-notch facilities and some nationally ranked colleges it should come back to the state for a university bill. Not before that!!
December 6th, 2009
Update: Samaja has a report on this where it first says that the Central Univ in Koraput was demanded to be named after Utkalmani and then it says that the central univ in Bhubaneswar was demanded to be named after Utkalmani. See the article at the bottom. I guess different people in the assembly demanded different things.
Following is from a report in Orissadiary.com.
During the 11th Yojna there is a proposal to open a Central University in Bhubaneswar. The Chief Whiff of Opposition Prasad Harichandan Demanded in the House on Friday to request the Centre for name the University as Utkalmani Central University. Legislature Santosh Singh Saluja also seconded the proposal.
Just to avoid confusion, the 11th plan details are already in place and the central university mentioned above in all probability refers to one of the two central universities (for Orissa) out of the 30 that are being established in India during the 11th plan. Following is a walk through on how the name evolved from "world class central university" to "national university" to "innovation university." However, many still refer to it as central university which has caused some confusion.
On March 28th 2008 http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=36955 it was announced that:
State-wise List of Cities Identified for locating 14 Central Universities during the XIth Plan which would aim to achieve world class standards
…
12. Orissa – Bhubaneshwar
Later on April 21, 2008 it was mentioned in the Rajya Sabha (see http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=37684)
It has also been decided to locate 14 world class Universities, one each in the 14 States / Regions as detailed in the Annexure.
Later on Dec 16 2008, it was mentioned in the Lok Sabha (see http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=45702 )
The Government proposes to establish 14 National Universities aiming towards world-class standards the 11th Plan period. A State- wise list of cities identified or locating these universities is annexed. A preliminary draft of the Concept Paper on setting up of these universities was prepared by an Expert Committee constituted by the University Grants Commission. The Expert Committee has held extensive consultations with eminent educationists, academics and policy makers. The relevant recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission have also been taken into consideration by the Expert Committee while revising the draft Concept Paper. The Concept Paper is, however, yet to be finalized by the Committee.
…
This information was given by Shri Arjun Singh, the Minister of Human Resource Development in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
The February 12th 2009 MHRD press release of MHRD minister Mr. Arjun Singh’s speech written for Bhubaneswar IIT foundation laying (which he did not attend) says the following (see http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=47448)
The Government of India in its Eleventh Plan has given a major thrust to education. The Central Government has taken several initiatives in respect of new institution building. These include setting up of 30 new Central Universities …
I am happy to say that the State of Orissa is also getting its due share. We have decided in this Plan Period to have in Orissa State, one Central University, one National University aiming for world class standards, …
On July 21 2009, the following was again mentioned in the Rajya Sabha. (See http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=50715)
The Government is considering a proposal to set up 14 Universities aiming at world class standards at the following locations:-
…
14. Bhubhaneshwar (Orissa)
Universities aiming at world class standards would act as exemplars for other universities including Central Universities, in benchmarking standards of teaching and research to those prevailing in the best universities in the world. This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question, in the Rajya Sabha today.
Somewhere down the line, the nomenclature changed to "Innovation Universities" and two concept papers for it were made available at
Following are some excerpts from the first one:
… the XI Plan proposes the establishment of 14 Innovation Universities aimed at world class standards. These Universities would be at the fount of making India the global knowledge hub and set benchmarks for excellence for other Central and State Universities.
Past the 11th plan there is possibility of additional central and national/innovation universities. (The Knowledge commission has talked about 50 national universities.) Orissa should be ready for these. In particular infrastructure (read "airport") is often being mentioned as an important criteria; especially for the national/innovation universities. Thus before the 12th plan document starts getting drafted, Orissa must have the Jharsuguda and Rourkela airports in operation and Berhampur linked properly to the Bhubaneswar airport through regular airport shuttle.
In addition Orissa leadership should from the very beginning (of the 12th plan drafting) focus on other parts of Orissa; otherwise Orissa will completely miss out on the new developments of the 12th plan which is only 3 years away. More details on how Orissa government can proactively shape the 12th plan by being prepared and by pushing for institutions that can be established in less-developed places (Balangir, Bhawanipatna, etc.) is discussed in http://orissa2020.org.
Samaja’s confusing report is below.
December 6th, 2009
Following is from a report in Orissadiary.com. (I am copying this verbatim. But please visit the original news site and support its sponsors. The picture is from tathya.in)
Puri: A huge rally supporting the Vedanta University and demanding its immediate establishment has been organized today by the student community of Puri district , here at Puri town. Over 600 students from various colleges of Puri district, under the banner of Youth and Student Forum, Puri (Yuba Chhatra Sangha) came together and staged the rally demanding the establishment of the proposed University. After a peaceful rally, the students submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India through the Collector, Puri, urging her to take concrete steps for the establishment of the proposed Vedanta University in their region.
The 2 hour peaceful rally started at around 10.30 am from the VIP Road, Puri and ended at the Puri Collector’s office where they handed over the memorandum signed by over 400 students from 8 colleges/educational institutions of Puri district including SCS College, Puri; Suraj Mahal Saha college, Puri; Government Women’s College, Puri; ADM College, Brahmagiri; Delanga College; Sakhigopal College; ITI, Puri, etc. On behalf of the Collector, the Sub-Collector, Puri received the memorandum from the students. Out of the 600 students who actively participated in the rally, 100 were girls.
The President of the youth forum, Mr Bipin Bihari Mishra and its Secretary Mr Atmaram Pandey, have given a detailed report on the need of Vedanta University in the area in the memorandum that was signed by over 400 students from different colleges of the region, clearly mentioning the name of their college, their class and roll number. In the memorandum, the students have spelled out the various reasons for which they demand the early establishment of the Vedanta University. The main reason is that the University will provide opportunity of world class higher education and high end research in several academic
disciplines at one place. Such an educational opportunity would also open up several avenues of employment in the country and abroad. This will be over and above the thousands of employment opportunities that the University itself can provide during its building phase and later on.
“A world-class university with research focus is a much needed thing in the area and Orissa at large. Thousands of people from the area will get direct and indirect employment opportunities with the establishment of this Vedanta University and it will also give opportunity to the students of Puri and Orissa to have world-class higher education at their doorstep. And hence, the government should take concrete steps for its establishment,” the memorandum says. Mr Mishra and Mr Pandey mentioned in the memorandum that even the National Knowledge Commission has recommended the establishment of more multidisciplinary universities like Vedanta University in Orissa and elsewhere in the country.
“While a world-class University is coming up in our area that will change the fate of our students and youth, some people with their vested interests are opposing it with baseless allegations,” they added.
December 6th, 2009
Following is from a PTI report.
… the Lok Sabha was told today.
The vacancy has arisen due to retirement and resignations in these top institutes, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said in a written reply.
Giving details of the vacancies, he said the faculty position in the IITs stands at 2,983 against the sanctioned strength of 4,267. Similarly, there are 388 faculty members against the sanctioned strength of 468 in the IIMs.
The situation is no different in National Institutes of Technology (NITs) where the faculty position stands at 2603 against the sanctioned strength of 3747.
The scenario is critical in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore where there are only 210 faculty members while the sanctioned strength is 478.
December 3rd, 2009
Following is gleaned from http://www.iiit-bh.ac.in/downloads/mandotaryDisclosure-2009.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1. Below I just give the name and the degrees. For other important qualifications such as experience, please see the above mentioned document.
- Dr. Gopal Nayak, Director. B.Tech and Ph.D IIT Kharagpur.PGDM IIM Bangalore.
- Ajit Das, Dean and Professor. B. Tech IIT Khragpur. M. Tech Utkal. Pursuing PhD at Utkal.
- Ramesh Chandra Balbantray, Assistant Professor, M.Sc and M.Phil in Maths from Utkal, M.Tech in CS from Utkal, Ph.D thesis submitted in 2007 at Utkal.
- Ashok Das, Assistant Professor, M.Sc Mathematics IIT Kharagpur, M.Tech Computer Science and Data Processing, IIT Khragpur., Ph.D in Computer Science & Engineering submitted in June 2008 at IIT Kharagpur.
- Anjali Mohapatra, Senior Lecturer, M.Sc and M. Phil in Physics, Utkal, M.Tech in Computer Science, Utkal, Continuing Ph.D at Utkal on Computational Molecular Biology.
- Dr. Monalisa Ray, Senior Lecturer, M.Sc Physics Ravenshaw/Utkal, Ph.D in Physics, Utkal.
- Dr. Tanutrushna Panigrahi, Senior Lecturer, MA and Ph.D in English from Berhampur University.
- Dr. Rupaj Nayak, Senior Lecturer, MA and Ph.D in Mathematics from Utkal.
- Dr. Biswajit Pradhan, Lecturer, MSc Berhampur and PhD in Physics IIT Bombay.
- Dr. Satyanarayan Pal, Senior Lecturer, M.Sc in Chemistry Vidyasagar University, Ph.D in Chemistry, Univ. of Hyderabad.
- Muktikanta Sahu, Lecturer, B.E , BIET Bhadrak, M.Tech CET in CS & IT.
- Lipika Das, Lecturer, MA in English Utkal, Continuing Ph.D at Utkal.
- Usharani Rout, Lecturer, B.E Electrical IGIT Sarang, M.Tech BIT Mesra in Control System.
- Puspanjali Mohapatra, Lecturer, B.E Electrical IGIT Sarang, M.Tech Computer Science, Utkal, Continuing Ph.D at Utkal.
- Dr. Hiranmayee Satpathy, Lecturer, M.Sc Chemistry Utkal, Ph.D in Polymer Chemistry, IIT Kharagpur.
- Bamadev Sahoo, Senior Lecturer, BE Mechanical IGIT Sarang, M.Tech Aerospace Eng from IIT Kharagpur, Continuing Ph.D in Mechanical at Jadavpur University.
November 30th, 2009
Cafe Coffee day is a coffee outlet company which has 833 cafes across 118 cities, mostly in India. Often there is a correlation between number of people working in the "knowledge" sectors and coffee drinking. Using that parameter following is a ranking together with their metro ranking based on the Gazetteer.
- New Delhi+Gurgaon+NOIDA( 114+26+18=158 ) – metro rank 2
- Bangalore (141) – metro rank 5
- Mumbai (120) – metro rank 1
- Pune (49) – metro rank 8
- Chennai (45) – metro rank 4
- Kolkata (38) – metro rank 3
- Hyderabad (37) – metro rank 6
- Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar (16+3=19) – metro rank 7
- Jaipur (15) – metro rank 11
- Chandigarh+Mohali(10+4=14) – metro rank 45
- Vadodara (9) – metro rank 20
- Bhubaneswar+Cuttack(7+1=8) metro rank 22, Goa (8), Nagpur(8) – metro rank 14
- Coimbatore (7) metro rank 23, Mysore(7) – metro rank 34, Mangalore-Surathkal (6+1=7) – metro rank 66
- Bhopal (6) – metro rank 17, Kochi (6) – metro rank 24, Guwahati (6) – metro rank 44, Indore (6) – metro rank 15, Ludhiana (6) – metro rank 19
Although the above is just for fun and I can see at least some inaccuracies (for example, Bangalore should probably at the top, and Hyderabad should be at least above Kolkata) it does make some sense.
In the context of Orissa, I think Bhubaneswar has a decent chance to be in the top 10 knowledge hubs of India within a few years, and not just in terms of coffee outlets; the top 8 are untouchable for Bhubaneswar (for at least the next decade), but it is a fair game after that.
November 25th, 2009
I came across this ad in Samaja today.
Looking for more information on this institute I came across the following in the page http://www.thesamaja.com/content.php?key=4.
About 80% of the net profit of The Samaja is spent for the welfare activities of the people of Orissa by way of extending stipend to needy students, by helping the patients and victims of natural calamities and through miscellaneous charity and donations. A large amount goes to the Gopabandhu Institute of Medical Science and Research which is in the verge of completion at Athgarh, Orissa.
Looking in Orissa links, I found the following in https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/245.
“The Samaja Group (Lok Sevak Mandal)” has shown interest to establish a medical college cum hospital in Cuttack district.
So perhaps Gopabandhu Institute of Medical Science & Research may some day become a medical college.
Just came across the following ad in nijuktikhabar.net. So it seems this institute has or about to start a nursing college.
The following news item from Samaja better reflects the current status.
November 21st, 2009
Update: A Business Standard report has some additional information on this. Following are some excerpts.
International Management Institute (IMI), a New Delhi-based B-school, will invest Rs 50-crore in setting up its campus on 15.8 acres of land at Gothpatna on the outskirts of the city.
… Initially, IMI-Bhubaneswar would have an intake of 60 students for the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) programme which will be introduced from July 2010.
To start with, there would be 10 full-time faculty members besides visiting faculty for the maiden PGDM batch of IMI-Bhubaneswar. IMI-Bhubaneswar would have a maximum student intake of 500 and a pool of 50 full-time faculty members once it is fully commissioned after four years. Addressing media persons here, C S Venkata Ratnam, director, IMI-New Delhi said, “We will commence our first PGDM programme at the Bhubaneswar campus from July 2010. The campus will be fully residential with a separate hostel for working executives.”
Students will have to pay around Rs 10 lakh for pursuing the full-time management programme which includes the cost of the hostel. Apart from PGDM programme, the Bhubaneswar campus of IMI would offer executive PGDM programme for working executives. Plans are also afoot to introduce a porgramme in services marketing.
Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.
New Delhi
: Commemorating its 30th anniversary during 2010-2011, the International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi, has announced the launch of its second campus at Bhubaneshwar in Orissa. Located at the IDCO Institutional area in Gothapatna, Bhubaneshwar, adjacent to IIIT, Bhubaneshwar and NALCO Research Centre, the new campus is spread over 16 acres of land.
Speaking on the occasion, C.S. Venkata Ratnam, director, IMI New Delhi, said, “Subject to getting approval from AICTE, we will commence the first PGDM program in July-Aug 2010.” The campus will be fully residential and function as an autonomous business school. “Besides PGDM programs, IMI Bhubaneshwar will also have centers for research and executive education,” he further added.
… The new campus will also focus on entrepreneurship development and applied research on public policy into socio-economic issues and best practices in management and governance.
Prof N C Patnaik, IMI, said “We plan to be operational in a short span of 8 months, and the building will reflect the Architecture of Orissa.”
IMI Delhi is among the top business schools in India. I hope the Bhubaneswar campus will achieve similar or greater success.
November 13th, 2009
Following is an article written by respected (I respect him a lot) columnist Sharat Kumar Rout. I found it at http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=15350.
Vedanta University in Orissa: A victim of selfish politicking
Sharat Kumar Rout
Recently, the central team of a political party visited the Vedanta University project site near Puri and participated in a meeting of the group opposed to the project. The team leaders flayed the BJD government of Orissa to their hearts’ content and declared their firm opposition to the University project. They criticised the state government vehemently for giving away ‘prime agricultural land’ at ‘throw-away’ prices for the proposed University, expressed ‘shock’ at selling of Lord Jagannath’s land for the same purpose and also questioned the very logic behind establishment of a world class University in the Puri-Konark area. Well, they came, they saw and went away happily, believing perhaps that they conquered too. But, apart from providing some grist for the media mill, the whole exercise has gained nothing for the party concerned. What actually has come to fore is its glaring double standards. Inviting this mega University project to Orissa in 2006 was the decision of the erstwhile coalition Government in which three important Ministers, namely, law, Revenue and Higher Education, were from the said political party. Obviously, departments under these three Ministers played a very proactive role as far as the University MOU and the related matters were concerned. For all one knows, these particular Ministers were the main votaries of the University project. The central team of this party is surely not unaware of this fact. But now, because of the political dynamics before and after the last election, the party is no longer in the Government and so, it has just decided to play the role of the opposition to the hilt! This, among other things, clearly underscores the overly political nature of the opposition to Vedanta University project.
If one closely follows the anti-Vedanta University opponents and their modus operandi, it will be apparent that out of the 18 revenue villages coming within the proposed University site, only one particular group of people belonging to a particular village has been at the forefront. That they were never against the University project at the beginning and have been brainwashed by some local politicians to form an antagonist group, is also common knowledge. But this anti-Vedanta University group and its local political leaders have been emboldened over the last two years, because of the sustained support of different political parties, groups and personalities who, for various reasons, are opposed to the Naveen Pattnaik- led Government of Orissa. These political vested interests have naturally been able to create a whole lot of hype and hoopla about an anti-Vedanta University ‘movement’ and this, in turn, has been occupying so much of media space and time The usual shouting brigade consisting of the foreign-funded NGOs, their high-flying activists and the celebrity ambassadors they manage to rope in, has only made matters worse. Irrespective of the merit or propriety of the project opponents’ remonstrations, they succeed in creating or increasing doubt in public mind. The intelligentsia is also easily swayed by the media hype, more so because, in these stressful times no one practically has the time or inclination to be properly informed or think about any particular issue no matter how important it is for the society or the country at large. The cumulative result is that fear, suspicion or anxiety of the local community, whose life will be affected directly or indirectly by the project, is intensified creating more elbow-room for further politicking and the project work is delayed.
It is not to say that the people of the project area do not have any genuine grievances. But, surely there are ways and means of taking care of the grievances without stopping the project work. Besides, if the compensation package for land acquisition and other benefits to be made available to the land losers as per the R&R policy are dispassionately analysed, one can very well see that the possible pros far outweigh the cons. And, it will also be clear that most of the allegations of the project opponents are unfounded and unreal. It is high time that the intelligentsia, the youth, the student community and especially, the impartial opinion makers, shunned the shenanigans of the self-serving politicians and raised their voice in favour of the early establishment of a world class University in our state. It is learnt that an IIT could not be established in our state in the 60’s, due to the lack of foresight of our political class and the decision makers. Now, after more than four decades, one IIT has come to us. If we let go an opportunity like the Vedanta University now, perhaps we will never get another in the next hundred years.
[Sharat Kumar Rout, columnist, cell No: 9337369448, Maytree Enclave,Naharakanta,Bhubaneswar.]
There is also another recent article by Swati. It is at http://www.merinews.com/article/bjps-dissembling-policy-on-vedanta-raises-eyebrows/15787962.shtml. Although I mostly agree with her point of view, all her write-ups in Merinews have been about Vedanta University.
November 13th, 2009
Following is an excerpt from a PTI report in Hindu Business Line.
At least three more Apparel Training and Design Centres (ATDC) will be set up in Orissa. The proposed centers will be set up jointly by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (APEC) under union ministry of textiles and state government at Baripada, Cuttack and Sambalpur very soon.
…according to handlooms and textile secretary, Ms Arati Ahuja.
The APEC is now running three ATDCs at Bhubaneswr, Berhampur and Rourkeal with 100 per cent placement guarantee.
… Almost all the students who passed out from the Bhubaneswar centre have got placement, said Ms Lopamudra Das, head of the Bhubaneswar center.
The placement was made in reputed garment companies, she said.
In a related news in Expressbuzz, the recently established Indian Institute of Handloom Technology at Baragarh seems to be going through teething problems. Following is an excerpt.
… The IIHT was established here after much struggle last year as there was an inordinate delay in identifying and handing over the land for the institute. As work on the required infrastructure is far from over, it is now being mooted to hold the final year classes for the IIHT course at Salem. Ever since its inception, the IIHT has been operating on Panchayat College premises here.
As required by the IIHT officials, the institute was provided with classrooms, hostel for students besides four staff quarters. It was hoped that the infrastructure would be readied soon and the institute would be shifted to its new premises at Bhatli Road. But more than a year has passed and only a boundary wall has come up.
… Meanwhile, District Collector Suresh Prasad Padhy has apprised the Secretary, Higher Education of the slow pace of work at IIHT which is likely to be completed by 2013. …
November 10th, 2009
Thanks to Kanhu Roul for the pointer. The following is an excerpt from http://www.mbauniverse.com/aspirantinn.php?id=2534.
The Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) held its 21st Annual Convocation on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at the Greater Noida campus of the MBA institute. The Chief Guest was the former President of India, Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam.
The Convocation ceremony started with the welcome address by Jayashree Mohta, Chairperson, Board of Governors, BIMTECH.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi, Director, BIMTECH, informed that the institute is planning to open new campuses in Bhubaneswar, Orissa and Sonepat, Haryana.
Said Dr Chaturvedi, “I am glad to report that we have been invited by two state governments, Haryana and Orissa to open campuses in their states. BIMTECH has been recently allotted 29 acres of land at Bhubaneswar, Orissa and 7.5 acres at Sonepat, Haryana.” …
BIMTECH is decently ranked among private management institutes. I think this is different from the BITS Pilani group which planned to establish an IIM type institute and both Orissa government and AP government had pursued it. Orissa was also pursuing a BITS Pilani campus. I don’t know what happened to that. Two years back when we and the CM contacted Sir KK Birla about it we received individual responses which suggested that we wait till BITS-Pilani Hyderabad is operational. Now that BITS-Pilani Hyderabad is operational, I think it is time to broach the topic again with the right people. (Sir Birla has since then gone to the heavenly abode and since then Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla is in charge of BITS Pilani.)
November 10th, 2009
Update:
HRD Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal spent last several days in the US trying to convince top US universities to collaborate and open branches in India. His talk at MIT is here http://techtv.mit.edu/tags/5218-sibal/videos/4310-mit-india-forum-2009. (Thanks to a commentator at Abi’s blog for the pointer.)
I wish some people of Orissa had not created road block for Vedanta University. If it had made progress as scheduled then it would have put the Bhubaneswar-Puri area in the map of top knowledge centers of India and there would have been a higher chance of some good foreign (especially US) universities thinking about having some operations in Orissa. As it stands now Orissa may lose the window of opportunity it has. Unless Orissa quickly positions itself among the top knowledge centers of India, the top foreign universities will give it a skip and it may again take a long long time for Orissa to catch up.
November 5th, 2009
Following is from http://www.barandbench.com/index.php?page=brief&id=248&full=.
The National Law University, Orissa (NLUO) was formally inaugurated by the Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, I. M. Quddusi, State Higher Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra and Minister of Law Bikram Keshari Arukha were present at the ceremony.
Bar & Bench talks to the dynamic Vice Chancellor of National Law University, Orissa, Dr. Faizan Mustafa, on his vision for NLUO and why NLUO is different from the other national law universities (NLUs).
Move from Interdisciplinary approach to integration of knowledge
NLUO is the first University in the country to integrate the B.A., LLB (Hons.) program with the BBA, LLB (Hons.) program. Students can opt for courses from both disciplines of study, and thus, can combine humanities courses with a human resources and marketing course. NLUO has also introduced innovative new courses in legal journalism and mass communication, in conjunction with the law degree.
Students from over 22 states and excellent infrastructure
In the first year, students from 22 states have joined NLUO. Our admission test has been rated as one of the best and some people have said it is tougher than the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). We hope to receive a better response next year when people see our infrastructure and campus. Currently people think Cuttack is far away from the "Metros" and won’t have good faculty and infrastructure facilities. We have spent more than Rs. 1 crore ($208,000) on the books alone. Our hostel facilities for students are amongst the best. The legal education space in the eastern part of India was in shambles. We hope to make a difference here.
Best of both worlds- Senior Faculty, alumni from NLUs and faculty from foreign law schools
During our times, teachers were good while students were bad, since law was the last option for many students. But with the advent of the national law schools, the quality of students has become excellent. I need thank my Senior from college, Dr. Madhav Menon, for his efforts in bringing change into the legal education space. Self-financing Law Universities like us cannot continue to run without quality faculty. There is an unwritten rule in our Universities where we encourage alumni from other NLUs and people who have taught abroad to come and teach in NLUO. We already have faculty who have had experience in other western countries, along with Senior Faculty from other NLUs. For example, the former Vice Chancellor of NLSIU, Bangalore, Dr. N.L. Mitra is one of the faculty members, as is Senior Professor Ajjappa, who has taught at various Law Universities. We want to bring the best of both worlds together, so students can benefit from such vast experience.
Also, I think Law Faculty should not be judged on UGC or other pay scales in self-financing institutions like ours. We need to provide other incentives to faculty to lure them away from private corporations or high paying jobs. If we have to be a third generation Law University, we need to provide the best for the Faculty and students.
NLUs are producing ‘Soft’ Lawyers
The CJI in his welcome speech said, "The NLUs have failed in so far as producing lawyers for the Bar." Constant criticism against the NLUs is that they are producing ‘Soft’ lawyers who opt for Air Conditioned office spaces instead of joining ‘real ligation’ and or opting for judicial services. If we want to increase the quality of our Judges, we also need to increase the quality of the lawyers. One space where NLUO intends to bridge this divide is to concentrate on "traditional lawyering" and not merely corporate law.
New Areas of Legal Practice
NLUO will focus on mining law, water law, food law, energy law and agriculture law. Our country continues to be driven by agriculture and yet, very little importance is attached to agriculture and the legal issues around it. While Corporate Law and IP Law are important for the economy, equal importance has to be given to other areas of practice. Orissa is losing Rs. 20,000 crores ($4.16 billion) every year due to the center-state divide on resources. We plan to have centers on these areas to conduct exhaustive research and recommendations.
I want to build a socially relevant Law University. I encourage people to come, see the University and provide us with comments on improving it.
November 3rd, 2009
Update: Tathya has an article and pictures on the current status of the construction of AIIMS Bhubaneswar. One of the pictures is given below. Tathya.in says: "Kolkota based Unit Construction has taken up the construction job, while the PSU, Hospital Services Consultation Corporation (HSCC) is the civil consultant for this projects."
More details on the tender is at http://mohfw.nic.in/Index6aiims.htm:
The above tender is about the hospital and medical college. Earlier in May 2008, tenders were floated for the housing complex. See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1121. (Even older links related to tenders for the AIIMS-like institution in Bhubaneswar are at https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=970.) In June 2009 it was reported that:
- Out of the 14 blocks of the AIIMS, the roof works of eight blocks have already been completed.
- An alternative road has already been constructed for the Sijua village and 90 per cent work has already been completed.
- Steps have been taken to remove the high-voltage transmission line.
I hope additional progress has been made with respect to the housing construction.
November 2nd, 2009
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