BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik Friday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention for immediate the establishment of the National Institute of New Energy and Innovation (NINEI) in the state.
The letter from the chief minister comes after the ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued an order on November 10, 2017 to close down the regional office at Bhubaneswar with immediate effect. Stating that closure of the regional office may hamper the progress of the establishment of NINEI in Odisha, Naveen said the construction of the institute near IIT, Bhubaneswar has not yet been taken up despite grant advance possession of the required land.
Referring to his earlier letters on February 5, 2016, August 23, 2016 and May 16, 2017 regarding the establishment of NINEI in Odisha, the chief minister said the state government had committed to provide the necessary infrastructure support for this prestigious project for promoting cutting-edge research and development activities in the field of renewable energy. The state government has already allocated 73.68 acres of land near the IIT, Bhubaneswar for the institute, he said and added that one acre of land has been identified for the city office.
"I request you kindly intervene in the matter and issue instructions to commence construction of the NINEI at the earliest. May I also request you to kindly direct the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to reopen the regional office at Bhubaneswar," he said.