SANGUEM: After the Centre refused to accept the proposed land for the IIT project stating that the land available was not enough, the protestors against the project on this land, hailed the Centre for showing concern towards the protection of hills and green cover in the area despite claims being made by Sanguem MLA Subhash Phal Desai that the proposed site is barren and not under cultivation.
Farmer and activist Joseph Fernandes who along with others has been agitating against the IIT project at the pristine farmland and hilly area at Cotarli Sanguem for last over 60 days said, “The Centre has given an apt answer to the false claim made by (Minister) Phal Desai and he should withdraw his claim from getting the IIT at the proposed site at Cotarli village.”
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Centre had asked for 12 lakh sq mts for IIT, and 7 lakh was offered. 4 lakhs sq mts covered by hillock leaving only 3 lakh sq mtrs for the project.
The Centre had asked for 12 lakhs square of land for the project, and MLA from Sanguem had offered to make available 7 lakh sq mtrs of land for the project. However, only around 3 lakh sq metres of land stands available for use of the project as the other 4 lakh stands covered by a natural cover and a hillock.
Incidentally, the government had rejected the proposal at the same site on an earlier occasion but Sanguem farmers said that the MLA had projected the same site all over again in a new avatar even after the locals made a fervent appeal to Phal Desai to shift the project elsewhere.
The whole of Cotarli village particularly the area where the IIT was proposed to be set up comes under the command area. The area is totally green with a large number of people having their agricultural plantations.
“Phal Desai was trying to misguide the Centre in the same way he had misguided Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. But God is on our side. The local deities on which we had reposed our trust have opened the eyes of the Centre to reject the proposal sent by State Government,” added Fernandes.
He however informed that notwithstanding the claim made by the Centre over the rejection of Sanguem site, they will continue their agitation till the time the site stands formally withdrawn for the proposed IIT project.
Meanwhile, after the Centre’s stand, Minister Phaldessai said that he is speaking to neighbouring landowners for an additional 2 lakh sq mtrs of land at the proposed site but Sanguem farmers have questioned this move as “unfeasible”.
“Phal Desai fails to understand that the area surrounding the proposed site is again under green cover. Do not take the farmers for granted. You are already out. We urge Phal Desai not to make any more attempts to revise the proposal which is already rejected by the Centre”, a farmer Milton Fernandes said.
“These are our farmlands. If feasible, provide us subsidy for fencing the remaining area to bring under cultivation,” appealed Fernandes to the Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik. “We urge the government to come out with the notification of scrapping the project from Cotarli village so that they could stop their agitation and start working in their farms,” Fernandes said.
