House okays petroleum & energy institute Bill

The bill was passed by voice-vote in the Rajya Sabha today after a two-hour discussion. The Lok Sabha had cleared the bill in August.

In his reply, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the government is fulfilling its commitment made during the bifurcation of unified Andhra Pradesh into two states.

The minister said that the institute has already started imparting education and IIT Kharagpur has been made mentor organisation.

Expressing gratitude toward Andhra Pradesh for providing 200 acres land free of cost to set up this institute, Pradhan told the House that as much as Rs 1,055 crore would be provided for setting up this institute out of which Rs 655 crore will be through budgetary provision and remaining amount will be funded by oil companies.

On the members' concerns about the autonomy of this institute, the minister said that government's intention is to set up an autonomous institute but it would require some hand holding in beginning. He also assured the House that reservation policy would be followed while filling up teaching and non-teaching vacancies.

He said that the institute which was running for past two years would get legal sanctity after passage of the bill in Parliament. The IIPE is being set up at Visakhapatnam at a cost of Rs 650 crore as part of a package promised by the Centre to Andhra Pradesh after Telangana was carved out of it.

Visakhapatnam is the right place for this institute, the minister said.

This institute will create jobs for local people also as their would be a lot of non-teaching staff. The government is committed to providing affordable energy to the people of the country, he added. To be declared as an institution of national importance, the IIPE would provide high quality education and conduct advance research in all aspects relating to the conventional hydrocarbons, according to the Objects and Reasons of the bill.

Among others, the institute would actively pursue research and development in the fields such as liquefied natural gas, biofuels and renewables.

Cutting across the party lines, all members who participated in the debate on the bill, supported it. However, some members asked the government to keep institute free from political interferences while appointing board of governors and governing council of the institutes.