Once upon a time NIT, Rourkela (NITR) was in 8th position among all IITs and NITs of India and top among all NITs. Even many IITs were ranked below NITR so far as standard was concerned.
It is all due to its infrastructure and quality of education. But in last couple of years, the institution’s image has taken a beating due to the dispute between the then Chairperson, Board of Governors and Director, and Director and Registrar. The three are not in their respective position now though.
There was a time when the well designed and elevated buildings of NIT, Rourkela was not only an attraction for the Rourkelites but also for the outsiders who visited the campus. But gradually the impressions have been faded out and allegations from different corners have cropped up on the quality of constructions made in the expansion of campus. Though crore of rupees were spent in construction works but the quality was not maintained.
For which many buildings are in a shambles, it is alleged. One senior professor of Electrical Department on condition of anonymity showing some photographs said the new building of electrical and electronics departments was constructed in the year 2013 at Rs39.87 crore but due to poor quality of materials used and lack of proper design and guidelines, the building now looks an abandoned structure.
The quality of tiles and marbles used in the floor are so poor that the three- year- old building looks as though it is twenty-year-old. Somewhere the tiles colour are changed, somewhere it is faded. Even somewhere due to poor fittings it is removed causing harm for others.
Similar conditions are fund in the roof and walls. In many places, the walls of the building are cracked. In electrical building zone during rain the water enters in to the floor which is another sorry affair.
Though the matter is in the knowledge of the higher authority, action is neither initiated against the contractor, nor the concerned person of the NIT who was in charge of supervision. It is also surprising how the contractor was paid without assessing the quality. If proper inquiry is made, the contractor will be black listed and the person concerned who has helped him to get the bill passed may be put behind the bars, said the professor.
This is one example and this type of scenario can be seen in other buildings which were constructed after 2010. Even without considering the quality, the bills were escalated like anything from the estimated or job awarded cost. So, huge transactions of hush money cannot be ruled out in construction works. If an inquiry by CBI or any other independent agency is done into all the construction works held in the NITR since 2010, the truth can come to the fore.