Bangalore: The much-delayed Science City project is finally set to take off with the State Government on Saturday announcing that 100 acres of land near Bannerghatta village will be set aside for the project.

Minister for Science and Technology Ramachandra Gowda told presspersons that 100 of the 300 acres in the possession of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would be handed over for the Science City project. Work on the project, estimated to cost Rs. 100 crore, is expected to begin in a few months. The Union and State Governments will share the cost equally. The CRPF would be given 100 acres elsewhere, he said.

Regional centres

Mr. Gowda said the Union Ministry of Science and Technology had agreed to release grants to establish two regional science centres in Mangalore and Dharwad. The cost of each centre will be Rs. 7 crore and would be shared equally by the Centre and the State. However, the Centre had declined to provide funds for the proposed regional centres in Raichur, Mysore and Davangere.

The Minister, who earlier in the day held talks with Orissa Minister for Science and Technology Sanjeev Kumar Sahu at the Kumara Krupa Guesthouse here, said the Government proposed to set up sciences centres in all districts in a phased manner. Science kits comprising a computer and basic science tools, costing Rs. 50,000 each, would be provided to government primary schools located in the 39 most backward taluks in the State.

In order to attract students to the teaching profession, the Department of Science and Technology planned to introduce an integrated five-year B.Sc. course in engineering colleges. As a large number of science students were opting for courses in engineering and medicine, there was shortage of teachers to teach science in high schools and pre-university colleges, Mr. Gowda said.

A preliminary discussion had been held with Minister for Higher Education D.H. Shankaramurthy on the matter. An expert committee, if required, would be constituted to frame the syllabus for the course, he said.

National conference

A national conference on "Science then, today and tomorrow" has been organised on June 24 in Bangalore. Students and scientists from across the country will participate in it. Mobile science exhibitions will be organised in remote villages to create awareness about developments in science. It will be launched in Mandya on July 4.

Mr. Sahu, who was here in connection with Bangalore Bio, said he and Mr. Gowda had discussed subjects related to science and technology in general.

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