Photo Courtesy: nenow
Imphal: Manipur Congress leaders are fighting the state government's decision to move the National Institute of Technology (NIT) permanent campus to Kakching. They argue the plan is baseless. Former Chief Minister and Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Okram Ibobi Singh led the charge at a press conference on Friday at Congress Bhawan in Imphal.
The party claims the government is ignoring years of planning. Back in 2014 and 2015, the Congress government acquired 341.5 acres of land for the project. Officials completed all land records, known as Jamabandi, and paid compensation to the local pattadars.
"There was no justification for relocating the institute to another district," Ibobi Singh said. He and other senior party figures insist the original site remains viable. They pushed back against Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh’s claim that the site suffers from chronic waterlogging. According to the Congress, the drainage issues only plague a small section where temporary barracks stand.
These temporary structures were built around 2014 under the direction of Y.S. Rajan, the then Chairman of the Board of Governors. The plan intended for those buildings to serve for only five years while permanent facilities were built on higher ground within the same plot.
Former Education Minister Moirangthem Okendro pointed out that permanent infrastructure construction is already underway at the original site. He accused the current administration of failing to advance the project for a decade and now pushing a relocation without a formal review. The party leadership is now calling on student organizations and stakeholders to demand a full public discussion before any final decisions are made.
The conference included AICC CWC member Gaikhangam, former Education Minister Moirangthem Okendro, former Speaker Thokchom Lokeshwar Singh, former ministers Dr. Kh. Ratankumar and Dr. Kh. Loken Singh, along with MPCC Working President Victor Keishing, former Working President Devbrata Khumanthem, and Vice Presidents Tilotama Loitongbam and Hareshwar Goswami.
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