Govt urged to scrap land acquisition for NIT project

TEAM HERALD

teamherald@herald-goa.com

MARGAO: Sending a warning to the local MLA Rajan Naik and the Cuncolim BJP mandal not to push the controversial NIT project on the people of Cuncolim, Adv John Monteiro on Saturday demanded that the government scrap the land acquisition process and shift the project either to the land acquired for the Food Park at Betul or at the Goa University.

He also dared the Cuncolim MLA to explain why land belonging to certain families including the Audi families, have been mysteriously dropped by the government.

Addressing the media, Adv Monteiro, who had fought the 2012 Assembly polls from Cuncolim, cautioned that the local MLA and the government will have to face a sustained agitation in the coming days if the project is not scrapped immediately. 

“The people are already suffering due to the state government’s decision of dumping polluted industries. We Cuncolkars will not allow to make Cuncolim constituency a dumping site at the instance of any political parties and vested interests”, he warned.

Condemning the statement of MLA Rajan Naik that the government would still go ahead with the NIT project despite opposition, Adv Monteiro reminded the MLA that he and the BJP Mandal had opposed the NIT in Cuncolim when the Congress was in power. 

“The MLA and the BJP mandal should tell the people what made them to welcome the project again.  Since the government is afraid to come out with a white paper on the benefits accruing to the local youth from the NIT, it is clear that the project is not beneficial to the people”, he added.

He welcomed the decision of the Cuncolim Municipal Council, the Congress party and Dr Jorson Fernandes and warned that people of Cuncolim will not keep quite if the project is forced on them by the government. 

Condemning the statement by a Cuncolim BJP leader that local youth can ask for jobs of peons and watchmen in the NIT, Adv Monteiro said that Cuncolim is well known as a village of intellectuals and warriors, adding “but, it looks like the local MLA intends to make the village known on the world map as a village of watchmen and peons”.

On Cuncolim flooding, he demanded that Chief Minister Manohar Parikar release compensation under the Chief Minister’s Relief fund at the earliest to the flood victims.