CM: Hidden forces behind protests against IIT campus

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday alleged that some forces are working behind the scenes to stop national projects from coming up in Goa, and urged residents of Codar, Ponda, to support govt in setting up a permanent campus of the IIT-Goa on 14 lakh sqm of comunidade land in their village.

State govt and residents of Codar have locked horns over the setting up of the campus. TOI was the first to report that Codar became the fifth site identified by govt to set it up.

“People in Goa have a habit of opposing good work. People should not oppose the IIT project for name’s sake. I am clear about it. We have to welcome it,” said Sawant. “The state, which has 100% literacy, should not have such a mindset. We have to think about the future of our children, and it is the need of the hour.”

“First, people should tell why they are opposing the IIT project. What is there to oppose IIT? Some people work from behind to stop projects of national interest coming up in the state. We have to support national projects like nationalists,” he said.

Over a hundred villagers gathered at Shree Vetal Temple in the village on Monday evening and claimed that the institute would devastate the village.

Vishram Gaonkar said although govt has claimed the land is barren and rocky, many villagers are cultivating over the land. Some villagers said the water effluent of the institute, if started, would flow down to the Khandepar river, and the polluted water from the Opa treatment plant, which is downstream of Codar, would be supplied to Ponda and Tiswadi.

Villagers claim that over 20,000 people would live inside the institute campus as against 1,200 native villagers. Because of the institute, roads would be widened by demolishing houses of villagers, they said.

Codar is the fifth site identified as a permanent campus for the institute that became operational almost 10 years ago — in 2016 — and has been functioning from a temporary campus at the Goa Engineering College, Farmagudi. Several land parcels identified for a permanent campus for IIT-Goa over the years have either been rejected by the Union education ministry’s site selection committee or have faced protests from locals due to several reasons.

The administrator of comunidades, central zone, Panaji, has already issued a notice to announce that the “uncultivated, unused, rocky, and barren plot of land”, belonging to the comunidade of Codar and bearing survey number 63/2, has been applied for on a perpetual lease (aforamento) basis for setting up the permanent campus of IIT-Goa.