SANGUEM: With the government issuing a notification to acquire 10.51 lakh sq mts of land in Rivona, the IIT campus will finally be established in the home village of Minister for Social Welfare Subhash Phal Desai.
Villagers from Canacona, Shel-Melauli and even Cotarli in Sanguem taluka had earlier rejected the proposal to set up this elite engineering institute in their habitat.
Going by the notification published, it is apparent that the government proposes to acquire the land belonging to individuals even though earlier MLAs had alleged that proposals for acquiring private land was the doing of land sharks.
That the IIT would be set up in Rivona became evident when a few days back Phal Desai came out in support of it.
While earlier some people had opposed acquisition of their agricultural land for this purpose, they are now silent after the notification was issued on Wednesday.
It is understood that the land sought to be acquired belongs to a non-resident family who had purchased it many years ago. While some of the land sought to be acquired is leased out for mining, the remaining is lush agricultural land.
Villagers reveal that the minister has been holding late night meetings with villagers for the last several days to neutralise opposition to the project.
That Phal Desai has been a strong proponent of setting up the IIT in Sanguem taluka is a known fact as many of his supporters were seen heckling at the first meeting held at Cotarli to oppose the IIT there.
In fact, Phal Desai had even stated that he would ensure that the IIT will not move out of the taluka when Cotarli villagers opposed it.
The proposed site now is in the interior and the government is reportedly planning to have a 30 mtr wide link road via Kunamoll for which an aerial survey has reportedly been done.
Besides paying compensation to the private land owners for their land, the government will also have to relocate many families who have their residential houses in the land proposed in Rivona village.
As the Rivona Panchayat is totally affiliated to Phal Desai, it is expected to ensure that the villagers will not oppose the project.
OPINION
Do massive educational campuses need land beyond their capacity only on fragile ecosystems?
Ministers may be excited to bring high-tech education to their backyards but does it have a true cost to agriculture, farms, and homes of people. The opposition to the IIT has always been painted as anti-development and anti-youth. But all align; the agitation has been to pick places where traditional activities are not affected.
Do massive educational campuses need land beyond their capacity only on fragile ecosystems?
Does agricultural land traditional well-being have to be sacrificed for national institutions like the IIT where there is no guarantee of more Goans passing from here?
But for the sake of national development IITs are needed, but let land be allocated in areas where traditional activities, ecosystems are not sacrificed.
