Team Herald
PANJIM: Hours after the Shel-Melauli and neighbouring villagers gave a 10-day ultimatum to the government on scrapping the IIT Goa project, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said he will reassess the ground situation on the issue.
Rane, who is also the Valpoi MLA, has been at the receiving end on the issue but has remained adamant that IIT will come up at Guleli.
Rane, has consistently maintained his stand that government will go ahead with IIT project as only a handful of people have been opposing it. More recently, sources said Rane also told the CM at a Cabinet meeting that he should go ahead with the project.
However, with support for the Shel-Melauli locals coming from the neighbouring villages, Rane appears to have gauged the pulse of the people and announced he would speak to the people and the CM.
He took to the social media to say, “I shall be assessing the ground situation with our people regarding IIT at Shel-Melauli and will discuss the matter with CM Dr Pramod P Sawant in this regard.”
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant again said that the government is open for dialogue with the villagers. However, Sawant maintained that the villagers should visit him for talks, as in the past he had travelled to Shel-Melauli for discussions.
“I will not go to Melauli again. I have held meetings with them thrice. Even went to Melauli once but they are adamant. Maybe they want to come to meet but somebody is instigating them,” Sawant said.
Earlier, BJP State president Sadanand Shet Tanavade had ruled out that the Chief Minister would visit Shel-Melauli again to hold talks with the people.
“Neither CM will go there nor will the party allow him to go. Being the president of BJP, I will request CM Sawant to not visit and hold talks with Melauli villagers because earlier he had already visited there two times and yet the villagers haven’t agreed,” Tanavade had said.
