WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2024
Team Herald
Panjim: Amidst opposition from the Guleli villagers over the setting up of upcoming Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Goa Campus in the village; the ruling BJP has urged locals to not object the project as it could be treated as a legacy of ex-Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar, the first IITian Chief Minister in the country.
“This is a signature project. We can call the IIT a legacy of late Manohar Parrikar,” party spokesperson Damu Naik said while addressing a press conference on Tuesday.
The senior party leader urged people to not oppose the project at the backdrop of protest against setting up IIT in Guleli Village panchayat. The villagers have resolved to not allow the project in Melaulim village. Naik said that people can criticize but not for a developmental project like IIT.
The project also recently witnessed differences within the government over shifting of the location from Sanguem to Sattari. Independent Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar hit out at the govt for hastily shifting the project. CM Pramod Sawant was quick to accused Gaonkar of indulging in ‘setting’ for purchase of the land in his constituency, for IIT campus.
On Tuesday, the BJP accused the MLA of interfering with the IIT project and further misleading farmers over the Sanjivani Sugar Factory situation. Naik said that the land identified for the IIT project at Sanguem was initially in the name of Water Resources Department (WRD) and thereafter claimed by locals after winning a case in the court. “Government was in the process to decide whether to appeal against the court order or buy the land at specified rate. The entire process was completed and those who staked claim on the land were asked to give their documents. But it was stalled,” he said hinting at Gaonkar’s interference in stalling the process.
