Sambalpur/Bhubaneswar, March 24: The state government today provided the Centre with details of two sites chosen by the Sambalpur district administration for the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM).

Technical education and training secretary C.S. Kumar said: "Now, its for the central government to decide the location of the institute."

Convener of the Peoples' Forum for IIM in Sambalpur Swapan Mishra said: "A seven-member team from the forum will meet the Prime Minister and the Union HRD minister. The Centre should initiate the process to set up the IIM in Sambalpur. People of neighbouring Sundargarh and Jharsuguda districts have also extended their support to us."

Mishra said: "We don't have any objection if the temporary campus of the proposed IIM runs from Bhubaneswar. We want the permanent campus to be located in Sambalpur."

Sambalpur district collector Balwant Singh identified two possible sites - one at Goshala and another at Nildungri.

The state government had earlier recommended Bhubaneswar to be the proposed site. However, after meeting a team of BJP leaders from west Odisha, led by Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, Union HRD minister Smriti Irani had sought the team's opinion about locating the institute in Sambalpur.

In his reply on March 2, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said: "If the Centre is willing to relax the guidelines for site selection, the state would strongly recommend Sambalpur as its location."