With mounting demands, two more districts were added to the list for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
The district Collectors of Sundargarah and Koraput were asked on Wednesday to identify land for the setting up of the B-school. IDCO CMD Vishal Dev wrote to both the district Collectors to submit the details of the probable locations measuring 200 acres of land by September 10.
Dev on September 1 had directed the district Collectors of Cuttack, Khurda, Sambalpur and Ganjam to identify suitable land free from dispute having good connectivity. The Union Human Resource Development Ministry had asked the Odisha Government to provide free land measuring 200 acres in the State for the establishment of IIM and give two or three options for the final site selection.
After the land was identified, a Central team would inspect the land and finalise the site. The Government had short listed Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur, Sambalpur and Cuttack for the purpose. However, with mounting demands from Rourkela and Jeypur, the Government was forced to issue fresh letters to the new district administrations.
Various organisations from Brahmapur, Sambalpur and Rourkela have been demanding for the setting up of the IMM in their respective areas over last few weeks. Rourkela MlA Dillip Ray and Jeypur Congress MlA Taraprasad Bahinipati had criticised the State Government for not including Rourkela and Jeypur in the list for venue of the IIM.