Rae Bareli DM Chranjeet Singh Bakhshi denied any attempt by the administration to thwart the process of land acquisition. “I am looking into the matter and will soon get the issue resolved,” he said.

The institute was initially proposed to be set up in Piparpur area of Sultanpur district. “It required nearly 650 acres land for the project. But in the absence of a big area, it was shifted to Rae Bareli. Under the new arrangement in Jais, the institute now required 150 acres. The RGIPT has already got 45 acres and now needs nearly 96 acres,” a local Congress leader said.

The RGIPT aims to produce world class “Petrocrats”. A training and educational institute, it will render technical and management training to the petroleum industry. On December 3, 2007, the Lok Sabha had passed the RGIPT Bill. The state Congress has decided to take up the issue and has given three days to the government to take action. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, state Congress president, said: “Once fully functional, RGIPT will be one of its kind in India and bring employment in the region also. If state government does not take action within three days, we will launch our protest.”

Rae Bareli has already witnessed a tussle between the UPA government and the BSP government over the allotment of land for the Railway Coach Factory.

‘Never mix politics with development’
Chief Minister Mayawati said the state government has issued orders for providing land for the RGIPT at Tiloi in Rae Bareli.

... contd.