State recommends two Sambalpur sites for IIM

The State Government on Tuesday forwarded details of two locations in Sambalpur district for the purpose of locating the permanent campus of the proposed IIM on the basis of a report of the Sambalpur District Collector. Sources said the Collector has identified the two sites, one in Dhankaouda block and the other in Jujumara block.

In response to Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s letter seeking opinion of the State Government for setting up of the IIM in western Odisha, particularly in Sambalpur region, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had on March 2 recommended to the Centre for setting up the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Sambalpur city.

Earlier, the HRD Ministry, as per its guideline, had asked the State Government to identify the location of sites for the IIM which should be close to an airport. As a result, the State Government had restricted its choice to places in and around Bhubaneswar while making recommendations. Patnaik had stated, “If the Centre is willing to relax this guideline for site selection, the State Government would strongly recommend Sambalpur as the location of the IIM.”