Dhanbad: IIT(ISM) is eyeing 400 acres at Egyarkund block in Nirsa Assembly constituency to set up 29 technological and community development centres.

Nirsa MLA Arup Chatterjee on Monday met ISM registrar Colonel (Retd) M.K. Singh with details of 20 raiyats (tenure holders) of the block who were willing to part with their land measuring around 100 acres. The existing campus at Saraidhela spread over 210 acres is not big enough for its expansion plans.

Recently, a two-member IIT(ISM) team comprising the registrar and associate professor of mining engineering department Dhiraj Kumar visited Ranchi to take stock of the progress of the institute's request for transfer of around 300 acres of government land.

Chatterjee said the owners of the raiyats which are located in the middle of the government land have already given their consent letter. The plots are located in different mouzas such as Merha, Bormui, Bomera, Kalimati and Kesarpara, all located in the block.

"Though IIT(ISM) had requested the state government for the transfer of around 300 acres, it was yet to make formal request for the transfer of around 100 acres of private land," said Chatterjee.

He added that the development of the second campus in Egyarkund, around 30km from its Saraidhela campus, will ensure the growth of adjoining areas. The institute has also proposed launching of a medical college in Nirsa by taking over the ESI hospital.

Singh said the state revenue department had already cleared the state higher and technical education department's request for transfer of government land for the institute's expansion.

The institute is planning to set up a host of centres including a centre for renewable energy, geo-special technology, climate change, sustainable mining, nuclear science and engineering, automation and robotics, earthquake engineering and natural hazards and cloud computing on its new campus.

"Besides all the technical centres, we are also planning set up a school of social sciences and humanities and a school of medical sciences and technology," said Dhiraj Kumar.

He added that though the institute was earlier planning to carry out expansion plans on its existing campus near Saraidhela, lack of government land had forced it to look for land in Egyarkund block.