New Delhi, Jan. 29: Stinking toilets, dilapidated laboratories and old hostels at the Indian institutes of technology (IITs) may get their first makeover in years with the Centre planning an increase in the funding for the institutes’ day-to-day running.

The human resource development ministry plans to raise by 10 per cent the non-plan funds for each IIT and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, senior government officials have revealed.

The IITs have long complained that the money disbursed by the Centre for maintaining infrastructure — the non-plan funds — is inadequate. In recent years, senior IIT officials have written to the Centre on more than one occasion to complain about a cash crunch.

Over the past three years, each of the IITs and IISc has pulled out money from a contingency fund they maintain to make up for the shortage. The contingency funds are created from the IITs’ own earnings — through private projects and donations from alumni.

IIT Delhi, for instance, had to withdraw over Rs 3 crore from its contingency fund over the past year, senior officials said. The other IITs, too, have done the same.

“Some of our hostels have not received a coat of paint in years. And hostel toilets cannot be maintained the way we would like to. Laboratories suffer too,” an IIT director said.

The ministry has consistently ignored the pleas, IIT officials alleged.

But ahead of a meeting with directors of the seven IITs this month, where plans for a threefold intake of students are to be discussed, the ministry is planning the raise.

“At the meeting, we plan to discuss the possibility of a three-fold increase in the intake of students in existing IITs. When the directors are complaining about inability to maintain existing infrastructure, we can’t possibly expect them to consider expansion without more funds,” a ministry official said.

The official added that the ministry had been planning the funds increase “in any case” for quite some time now.

The 10 per cent hike will need cabinet approval, but is likely to be cleared.

The money will be released as soon as the cabinet clears the hike. The money that the IITs and the IISc spent from their emergency funds will be returned, sources said.

In all, IIT Delhi is slated to receive over Rs 80 crore in the first year after the scheme is cleared — more than Rs 10 crore over and above its current allocation.

IIT Bombay, which receives the maximum maintenance grant (see chart) among the IITs, will receive over Rs 90 crore for the first year, sources said.