Team Herald
SANGUEM: Farmers in Sanguem strongly opposed the IIT project proposed by the State Government, claiming they will lose their paddy fields and demanded the project be shifted elsewhere in the taluka.
Going ahead with the proposed land, which is fully covered with agricultural plantation and wild trees, shows the Government’s intention is to kill the flora and fauna in the pristine surrounding, claimed the farmers while speaking at a press meet held at Sanguem.
Ina Costa spoke on the effects the project will have on the environment as the vast area set to be acquired for the IIT project is widely covered with a large number of forest trees and is also home to several species of wild animals and birds. The setting-up of the project at Cotarli village in Sanguem will also lead to death of a large number of springs and rivulets which pass through the proposed area, claimed Costa while castigating the Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar for failure to keep his assurance given to the farmers at the last meeting.
Costa said that at the last meeting, Gaonkar had assured the farmers of conducting a joint meeting of the IIT officials, deputy collector, Collector and the Mamlatdar to appraise the farmers in detail of the proposed IIT plan. However, till date Gaonkar failed to have the meeting without assigning the reason thereof. Costa also criticised Gaonkar for giving false assurances to the people on the IIT project as that of providing maximum jobs to the locals and also on houses to be let for the officials working at IIT. The people in the locality are themselves living in ancestral houses as joint families, he said.
Another farmer Constancio Mascarenhas challenged MLA Gaonkar to come face to face on the issue.
rather than making vague statements for self benefits. “I have been cultivating the paddy fields in the proposed area for IIT since my childhood and am totally dependent on the income generated from the agricultural plantation,” said Mascarenhas. He lamented the Goa Government’s idea of destroying green lands in the name of development projects which hardly benefit the locals. Speaking further Mascarenhas claimed that if at all the Government still wants to go ahead with the project then the paddy fields presently under cultivation could be set aside and the balance area if feasible could be acquired for the IIT.
Mascarenhas along with other farmers threatened to lead a ‘morcha’ to the office of Sanguem MLA if the Government still goes ahead with the project work.
Jeetendra Naik and Maria Cruz also objected the Government’s idea of going ahead with the IIT project where the farmers are cultivating two crops in a season.
