The central team inspects the Magadh University campus in Bodhgaya on Thursday. Picture by Suman
A central team on Thursday visited Bodhgaya to assess the ground realities for setting up IIM, a day after its members visited Bihta in Patna.
The central team led by Union additional secretary of higher education Amarjeet Sinha visited the identified plots in and around the Magadh University (MU) campus and the building of the directorate of distance education (DDE), where the classes of the premier business school could be conducted temporarily. Principal education secretary of the state, R.K. Mahajan, accompanied the central team to Bodhgaya.
Gaya district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, who accompanied the central team members to the MU campus, said they visited the proposed site for setting up the IIM. They went to the hostels on the MU campus. The district magistrate claimed that the team appeared satisfied with the proposed site and the available facilities on a day the Centre finalised the location of IIM-Odisha, which would come up at Gothapatna in Bhubaneswar.
According to sources, three plots have been identified for the proposed site for the B-school. First, 45.75 acres to the west of the university headquarters campus. The other two plots are of 97.7 acres and 6.55 acres on the campus near Mastipur village.
The central team held parleys with the MU officials, including pro vice-chancellor Kriteshwar Prasad, proctor Kapildeo Singh, dean of students' welfare Sitaram Singh and controller of examinations Sushil Singh and distance education director Israil Khan, on the issue of setting up IIM in Bodhgaya. The MU officials drew attention of the visiting team towards the problems in setting up the business school on the varsity campus, especially the quarters of teaching and the non-teaching employees, high school, guesthouse and other constructions at the proposed site.
Referring to the norms of the National Council of Technical Education, the distance education director said two institutes could not function from one building.
Sinha, the Union additional secretary of higher education, told the varsity officials that if the university administration agreed to part with its land, the constructed area could be spared for setting up the IIM. He and the other central team members also agreed to the point of the distance education director and said a separate building could be constructed adjacent to the existing DDE building.
The Union additional secretary of higher education clarified that the central team's visit should not be perceived as a step that the MU land had been finalised for setting up the IIM.
The Magadh University Non-teaching Employees' Association called off their two-day agitation during the visit of the central team. Mahajan, the state's principal education secretary, announced to release Rs 8 crore for the development of the infrastructure of the varsity campus.