A partial view of the permanent site of NIT Nagaland campus at Chumukedima, some 14 km from Dimapur, Tuesday. NIT Nagaland, formerly functioning from NIT Silchar, is scheduled to start functioning at the Chumukedima campus from February this year. (Morung Photo)
Ashikho Pfuzhe
Morung Express News
Dimapur | January 27
The search for a permanent campus for the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Nagaland is finally over with the ‘Site Selection Committee’ choosing the abandoned DC Complex, Chumukedima, some 14 km from the commercial hub Dimapur.
The site selection committee led by special secretary (Technical Education), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Ashok Thakur and director, Mentor NIT (NIT Silchar), Dr. NV Deshpande, during their 2-day visit to Nagaland on January 14 & 15 last, inspected both the Niuland and Chumukedima sites. On the January 15 afternoon, the team met chief minister Neiphiu Rio at his residential office in Kohima and informed the latter that the committee had chosen Chumukedima as the permanent site for NIT Nagaland.
NIT Nagaland, one among the ten newly sanctioned NITs by the Government of India in 2009 under the 11th Five year Plan, has been being functioning from NIT Silchar, Assam, due to lack of infrastructure and uncertainty over a permanent site for the technical university in the state.
Earlier, Nagaland Government had proposed to set up the NIT campus at Niuland, also in Dimapur district, and acquired 300-acre land, while the Old DC Complex, Chumukedima, was to serve as a temporary campus for the first academic session of NIT Nagaland commencing February 2012, as announced earlier by Dr. NV Deshpande during his visit to the state in November, 2011.
According to sources, besides other factors, the site selection committee preferred the Old DC Complex due to its proximity with the National Highway, airport and railway station. Moreover, the Old DC complex has already in place enough buildings to serve as administrative offices and classrooms. Presently, hectic preparations and works are underway at the sprawling campus with total area of 385 acres for relocation of the NIT from Silchar and to start the first session of the university by February this year. Besides NIT allotted 300 acres, the campus will also be home to two more institutes, the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and National Polytechnic Training Centre covering 50 acres and 35 acres respectively.
It may be mentioned the NITs were previously called Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) and governed by the respective state governments but in 2002 the MHRD decided to upgrade RECs to ‘National Institutes of Technology’ (NITs). Again in 2007, the central government, which controls NITs and provides all funding, declared the NITs as “Institutes of National Importance” at par with the Indian Institutes of Technology. There are 30 NITs including upcoming campuses in the country.
