Amritsar: Running without a regular director in temporary premises while still being mentored by IIM Kozhikode, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Amritsar, is likely to miss the 2020 deadline of shifting to its new campus.
Two years after the foundation stone of its permanent campus was laid by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, only 15-20% work on construction of boundary wall of 61 acres could be completed. The cost of construction is also likely to escalate with the delay.
Sources informed TOI that going by the pace of work, not only
IIM Amritsar campus would miss its deadline of 2020 but its construction cost from Rs 1,200 crore would escalate to Rs 2,000 crore. "We are already spending around Rs 15 lakh on temporary hostel besides other expenses," said sources.
Sources said out of a total budget of Rs 1,200 crore, Rs 30 crore have been transferred to the IIM Amritsar account but was managed by IIM Kozikhode.
In 2014, six new IIMs were established at Amritsar, Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Sambalpur (Odisha), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra). Barring Amritsar, all other IIMs have regular directors.
In the past, Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla had sought regular director for the IIM in his constituency but to no avail.
In April 2015, IIM Amritsar had hired its temporary campus to start classes and its second batch will pass out in March 2018. The Punjab government had purchased 61 acres for the construction of the new campus of the institute and was handed over to IIM Amritsar Society by registering and mutating the land in its name. The land was purchased at Rakh Cheetha and Nijjarpura villages on the outskirts of Amritsar.
