July 23: The state government has decided to relocate Jyoti Chitraban Film and Television Institute to the city’s outskirts to upgrade its infrastructure and facilities. The institute will be developed on the lines of the Film and Television Institute of India.

A government official said plots near Mirza and north Guwahati have been identified to set up a new campus of the institute. He said the institute’s infrastructure and other facilities could not be developed and upgraded at its present location in Kahilipara.

The official said the department of cultural affairs has approached the revenue department to finalise a plot of land for the institute.

“In 1999, the Jyoti Chitraban (Film Studio) Society set up the institute on its Kahilipara campus. Since then the institute has been functioning from a small building. There has been no development and improvement of infrastructure and other facilities at the institute,” the official said.

Last year, a standing committee on cultural affairs constituted by the state Assembly recommended that the institute should follow the model of the Film and Television Institute of India.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi has asked officials to select a suitable plot first. “All formalities regarding finalisation of the plot will be cleared by next month. Once the plot is finalised, the government will construct a multistoreyed building and campus with hostel and quarters for faculty members,” the official said.

The institute has been plagued with various odds and lack of government support in recent years. But it has produced several young technicians and actors who have carved out a niche for themselves in filmmaking in the region and outside.

Debojit Sangmai and Amrit Pritom Dutta are two alumni of the institute who have made a name for themselves. Both students of audiography and sound engineering have worked in Bollywood blockbusters like Black, Khakee, Lagaan and Rang De Basanti.

The new campus of the institute is expected to be ready by next year. The institute will introduce various courses, including long-term and short-term ones, on different aspects of filmmaking like direction, screenplay writing, film animation, graphics and make-up art.