The concerned Central committee, which recently visited the State capital to finalise the location for a permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), has recommended Gothapatna on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar for the purpose in its report to the Union HRD Ministry, according to sources.
The State Government had earlier identified two locations, Gothapatna and Haridamada, and proposed to the HRD Ministry to decide on one of them. A two-member team of the Central committee headed by HRD Ministry Additional Secretary Amarjit Sinha visited Bhubaneswar on January 14 and found the 79-acre land at Gothapatna as the suitable location and then recommended this site to the HRD Ministry.
It may be recalled that the Union Finance Minister had announced setting up of IIMs in five States, including Odisha, during the presentation of the Union Budget for 2014-15 last year with an allocation of Rs500 crore.
Now, with the Central committee’s recommendation for commencement of classes for IIM-Bhubaneswar from July this year, the HRD Ministry is expected to take a decision on approval of Gothapatna as the location very soon.