Bengaluru: Union finance minister, Arun Jaitley, had almost a month ago, during the Union Budget speech in Parliament announced an IIT for Karnataka, but the state government is dragging its feet on announcing a location. The announcement came after two decades of battle for one.

Higher education minister RV Deshpande on Tuesday, speaking to a section of the media said that, “The Siddaramaiah government is busy with the ongoing session. Neither the Union budget nor that of the state government has been passed. We have to work on on this project in consultation with the HRD ministry. It cannot be one-sided.”

“There’s tremendous pressure on the government regarding the location. Many people from different parts of the state are urging the government to establish the IIT in their respective districts… Raichur, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Davangere, Chikkaballapur – everyone wants the premier institute. Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda wants it in Hassan. We have to discuss the issue in detail,” he added.

What’s shocking is that the government hasn’t even initiated discussion on the subject and neither was the issue raised during the legislature session. “We need a minimum of 500 acres of land; it’s difficult to get such a huge space in Bengaluru. Land is a big challenge,” the minister said.