The IIT for Himachal Pradesh was announced by Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on October 2 in Shimla, but now the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry is understood to have imposed a few conditions on the government, which include 500 acres of land and airport connectivity.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, currently in Delhi, is learnt to have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking in intervention to start the IIT on a temporary campus. The NIT, Hamirpur, meets most of the parameters to start admissions till the new campus for the IIT is developed.

Dhumal informed the Prime Minister about the state government’s earnest desire to make the proposed IIT a model centre and make sufficient land available, but till these things are done on the ground, the campus could start at a temporary location. He claimed that nearly 530 acres of land has already been identified in Mandi district and work would start soon.

Dhumal added that if not Hamirpur, the proposed IIT could be started at IIT Roorkee on a temporary basis.