Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa government’s dream to set up the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the State has been held up due to the failure of the Centre to pass the Land Acquisition Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister Francis D’Sozua conceded that the project is at a standstill despite the State’s attempt to fast track the process. “We are stuck because of the controversy surrounding the Land Acquisition Bill in the upper house of Parliament. We are facing a huge problem,” D’Souza said on Thursday.
The BJP government – both former chief minister Manohar Parrikar and current CM Laxmikant Parsekar – had shown interest in setting up AIIMS, Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management in the State.
Along with these three, some 89 other government projects, including of tourism infrastructure, water argumentation, new bridges and garbage treatment sites, are on hold.
In the last Assembly session, D’Souza had stated that the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, as amended by the UPA government, had come into force on January 1, 2014 and that it was partially implemented in the State.
The new proposals have been kept on hold pending finalisation of rules under the Act. “The old acquisitions are not affected,” he said.
The State has already requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow it to enact its own land acquisition legislation if the Centre fails to pass the amended Bill.
