Indian Institutes of Technology, which are geared up for their Joint Entrance Exam on April 13 for the next academic year, will fulfill the Supreme Court directives on 27 per cent quota for OBCs in three phases, according to Director IIT Mumbai Prof Ashok Misra.

The IITs had already made provisions in the application forms for the OBC students, but the apex court directives will be carried out in three phases by taking nine per cent admission of OBCs this year in the first phase, Misra told PTI on Friday.

This is because IITs are not prepared with their present infrastructure to handle the additional students who will be admitted, he said.

IITs have to expand their infrastructure (including labs, classrooms, faculty and hostel accommodation) and this needs some time, senior members of the administrations of five IITs said.

On fee exemption and free hostel accommodation and stipend to these students who will be admitted through the quota just like the privilege enjoyed by ST/SC category students, Misra, who came back from Japan [Images] on Thursday night said, "I have no knowledge what the Centre wants from us and we have no communication so far."

"Whatever government wants, we will carry out as even for the general category, we are only charging around Rs 22,000 of the total Rs 2 lakh we spend on each of them," he said.

IITs have demanded last week that fees for the general category should be hiked by 50 per cent. Even then, the students will be paying one fourth of what IIT spends on each student, he said.

On the apex court verdict on exclusion of creamy layer, Misra said, "We have no idea what the government wants."

However, IITs are yet to upgrade their physical infrastructure and increase faculty members to cope with the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs as per the Supreme Court's directives, administrators of IITs said.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court had upheld the law providing 27 per cent quota for OBCs in IITs and other elite educational institutions. The 27 per cent OBC quota is in addition to the normal annual intake of students in IITs.

On the cut off marks for the OBC category students, IIT-JEE Chairman Venkataramani declined to comment.

A meeting may be soon held between IIT faculty members and the HRD Ministry officials to discuss quota-related issues, sources said.

Although mentally, the IITs were prepared for the OBC quota since last year, they had to work on strengthening the physical infrastructure and improving the faculty strength in order to implement the SC order, the administrators said.

They said it was easier for IIMs to expand their infrastructure, but the IITs have to get more equipped laboratories, classrooms as well as student accommodation besides additional fund as the OBC students may not be charged any fee just like SC/STs.