Assam Government is all set to finalise a concept paper for establishing a science and technology university in the State. The Science and Technology Department is holding discussions with Education Department with this aim in view. The Government is planning to set up a science city in Guwahati. It has also proposed a biotechnology park in the city during the current year, said Science and Technology Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Meanwhile, the Assam Science, Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC), with the financial support of the State Science and Technology Department, has been implementing a scheme to set up Arya Bhatta Science Centres at block levels for propagation of science and technology and to generate scientific temper among the people, said the Minister.

The Minister exuded the hope that these centres would be able to remove the gap between the scientists and the people.

The Department has also plans to upgrade the Guwahati Planetarium and to set up two planetariums at Kokrajhar and Jorhat. There is also a Rs 55 crore project in the pipeline to generate electricity from the solid waste produced by Guwahati localities, he said.

He also informed the House that allocation for the Department had now been raised and this time there was a 1000 per cent increase in the allocation for the Department. Now the Department is laying stress on making mathematics popular among the students and also to popularise research activities, he said.

Meanwhile, in a significant development, the Centre has announced its proposal to set up a Central University of world class standard in Guwahati city. This was announced by Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh. He appealed to the State Governments to identify adequate land in or near the selected cities.

Guwahati is among 14 cities identified by HRD Ministry for locating Central Universities during the Eleventh Plan. Assam already has Central Universities at Tezpur and Silchar. However, the proposed Central Universities are to be of world class standard.

The 14 Central Universities are to be located in or near selected large cities, which would automatically have the kind of connectivity and infrastructure such universities need, the HRD Minister said.

Accordingly, it has been decided to locate one such university in each of the 14 States, he said.

Singh further said the 16 States, which do not have a Central University, would get one Central University each in the Eleventh Plan period. The 16 States, however, do not include any State from the North-East.

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