New Delhi: A proposal for the setting up of anIndian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Indore has been put on hold by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the time being.
Indore currently is also home to an Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
The government of Madhya Pradesh had sought permission from the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the environment ministry for acquiring 80 hectares of forestland for the establishment of the proposed IIT.
The proposed IIT had been sanctioned to the state of Madhya Pradesh by the Human Resource Development ministry in the eleventh five year plan.
The approval of the government under the Forest Conservation Act is required for the diversion of forestland for any purpose, except for one hectare of forestland for the construction of building that are of public importance such as schools, hospitals, community halls and dispensaries.
The proposal for acquiring the land for the IIT in Indore was rejected by the FAC as it said that the diversion of too much of forestland will damage the ecological balance in and around the area of Indore.
Had the proposal been accepted by the environment ministry, Indore would have acquired the distinction of being the only city in India to have both an IIM as well as an IIT.
The FAC stated in its report that the proposal for diverting the forestland situated in the vicinity of an important city for the establishment of a non-specific project such as an IIT without taking up a detailed exercise for examining all feasible alternatives would be rejected.
The proposal would have meant the cutting down of around 7,164 trees in the forestland that has a density of 89.55 trees per hectare. An official informed that the area where the proposed IIT would have been set up is a reserved forest land of good quality and there is not much good forestland around Indore.
Another reason for the proposal being rejected was that the committee found that the land in Hasalpur village that was indicated in the proposal for compensatory afforestation was found to be not suitable for raise plantation and no alternative land for afforestation had been mentioned in the proposal.
