The Karnataka Institute of Diabetology (KID) is counting on philanthropists to come forward to construct a state-of-the-art campus on its Old Madras Road land in the next one year, its director Dr K R Narasimha Setty said.
Speaking to Express on the sidelines of the International Conference on Innovations in Biotech and Medicine 2013 held at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) on Monday, Dr Setty said he does not want to follow a cumbersome tender process to realise the institute’s expension plan.
‘’I don’t want it to become another Public Works Department building,’’ Dr Setty said. “The government has given us six acres and 11 guntas and we are looking for some philanthropists who can come forward and get the building constructed. I think it is worth contributing to an institute like the KID’’, he said, adding he would like to see the new building before the end of his tenure next year. The initial plan for the new building was 12 lakh square feet. “I have another year and ten months left and I don’t know if the government will extend it. So now, I am looking at four lakh square feet, which will cost `100 crore for future expansion. If someone comes in, it can be done in one year, like how Infosys constructed its campus in Hubli in 10 months,’’ Dr Setty said.
Asked if KID had approached any philanthropists formally, Dr Setty said it was not in the institute’s policy to ask anybody. “We want them to come voluntarily,’’ he said. The KID has made elaborate plans for expansion, which includes sunbathing space, recreation park, graded paths and even a cloak room. The KID is an autonomous institute of the state government established in 2007, functioning on Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research premises on Bannerghatta Road.