Banerjee okay to railways land for IITs

NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said her ministry would look at providing infrastructure and land for setting up Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

“We might even look at building IITs in the future,” Banerjee told the Lok Sabha in a discussion on the railway budget.

“Land is our main asset. We can build medical colleges and other institutions on our land. Both railway employees and the general public will benefit from this,” she added.

Railways have more than 300,000 acres of vacant land that could be used for setting up institutes of higher education and for industrial purposes.

Banerjee had July 3 tabled the railway budget for 2008-09.