The CCL submitted a memorandum to the Collector asking him to stop the IIT process. The villagers threatened to disrupt the survey if Government continues to move ahead with the proposed IIT campus at Loliem.
The CCL submitted a detailed letter to the Collector signed by over a thousand villagers in which they have enumerated all the cons of having IIT campus at the plateau.
A delegation of six CCL members and the villagers discussed the negatives of proposed IIT campus at Loliem and its ill effects on the villagers.
Denis Fernandes, Abhijit Prabhudessai, Dattaprasad Prabhugaonkar and others were present at the discussion.
The delegation informed the Collector that the Loliem panchayat was not informed while acquiring land for the proposed IIT campus. “What is the use of local governance if they are not going to be kept in the loop for such huge development plans?” asked the CCL.
“The authorities have started felling trees and logging the plateau even after objections from the villagers,” Abhijit Prabhudessai said.
“We will soon approach the court if there is no solution at any level of the Governance,” Denis Fernandes said.
The District Collector promised the villagers to forward their letter to the concerned authorities. However, the Collector informed that his office is only in the loop, while the entire process of survey and acquisition has been entrusted to the Director of Technical Education.
“The land is being acquired under the new acquisition policy and the work of the same is handed over to the Director of Technical Education. There were several meetings held before selection of this land for the proposed IIT campus and no resistance was reportedly heard back then,” Collector added.
