SANGUEM: The farmers who are to be affected by the proposed IIT project at Cotarli, Sanguem on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Quepem Deputy Collector placing their objections to the project coming up on agricultural and forest land in the village.
The farmers said that they are not opposed to the IIT project in Sanguem, but claim that the same coming up in the agricultural and forest land in Cotarli is bad not only for the people from Sanguem but for the entire state of Goa.
The land in Cotarli admeasuring around nine lakh square metres where the government proposes to set up the IIT project is an agricultural land presently under cultivation of paddy, cashew, millets and other crops. The proposed land for the project is abundantly blessed with all kinds of vegetation and fauna and has a massive tree cover including teak, matti and others, the farmers stated in their memorandum.
In the event of the vast agricultural land being acquired by the government, it will be a heavy blow to over 140 farmers having their paddy fields in Cotarli, who have been cultivating the paddy fields for generations together. Moreover, it will also lead to death of several streams and rivulets passing through the vast land proposed to be acquired for the IIT project, they further stated in the memorandum.
The affected farmers claim the government’s decision to house the project in Cotarli without taking the villagers into confidence is highly arbitrary and the farmers have urged the government to give a second thought to the proposed acquisition proceedings which are presently in the preliminary stage.
