Telangana row delays IIM-A's Hyderabad campus

Late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's dream of having an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the state is unlikely to materialise any time soon.

IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A), which had agreed to set up a campus in the state, has not been able to start work due to the political uncertainty caused by the Telangana issue.

"The Andhra Pradesh government did offer us land to set up a campus in Hyderabad. However, ever since the political turmoil, things have been more or less at a status quo. We are now waiting for a revival in response from the government's side. It's not that we have dropped the plans altogether," IIM-A Director Samir Barua told Business Standard.

IIM Bangalore (IIM-B), too, has declined the state's offer of land for a campus, citing faculty constraints.

"We thought about it, but finally said no to the proposal. Our bottleneck is faculty. We are on the look-out for quality faculty members even now. It will not be advisable to split faculty members between two campuses," IIM-B Director Pankaj Chandra said.

Since an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) had already been sanctioned for Andhra Pradesh in 2006, the state wasn't on the preferred list for new IIMs that the central government planned to set up in the 11th Five Year Plan. Accordingly, Reddy mooted a proposal to IIM-A and IIM-B in 2008, requesting them to set up an "extended campus" in the state. IIM-A is learnt to have been offered nearly 150 acres at a nominal cost and a Rs 100-crore interest-free loan.

Sources in the Andhra Pradesh government said the current political situation had forced institutes to take a wait-and-watch approach.

"We invited a number of institutes to set up a campus in the state and many of them agreed. But everything is on-hold right now due to the disturbance and bandh calls in the state. Even the government has been pre-occupied with its own internal affairs," said a state official.  Meanwhile, the Bangalore-located Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is said to be considering over a similar invitation from Andhra Pradesh.

"We have received the proposal from the Andhra Pradesh government and we are in talks for the next step forward," IISc Registrar Mohan Das said. According to sources, the institute has been shown four or five land parcels and is keen on a 1,000-acre plot that is on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border.

IMT's plans on track

Incidentally, the Ghaziabad-based Institute of Management Technology (IMT) has accepted the state government's invitation and is in an advanced stage of setting up its campus in Hyderabad — its third in the country.

"We are about to begin construction on a 30-acre plot in Hyderabad. It has been over a year since the state government offered us the land. We hope the new campus will be operational by 2011," IMT Ghaziabad Director Anwar Ali said.