PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that the state government will soon announce the place where IIT-Goa campus will be set-up.
There is no place to set up IIT-Goa at Tuem in Pernem taluka, Sawant told reporters. “The state government is identifying the land for setting up IIT-Goa,” he said.
"It is unfortunate that Goa has over the past few years not been able to finalise a site for IIT campus. It seems the government has failed to learn any lessons from experience—especially from Loliem and Melauli. Environment being a sensitive issue in Goa, the government needs to consult people before going ahead on the subject. No citizen trusts a government which doesn’t follow a transparent process. People are blamed for opposing the projects, but the government fails to take the stakeholders into confidence and explain how the locals would benefit from these projects. This needs to be done at the initial stage itself and not after it is unable to handle the protests.-TimesView"
In March, the state government had constituted a committee to identify land to set up an IIT-Campus in the state. The committee held a meeting and discussed the location to be identified for the project.
In January, the chief minister acceded to the demand of Melauli locals to shift the IIT project from the village. “The decision to shift the IIT project was taken keeping in mind people’s sentiments and the request of health minister Vishwajit Rane, who is also the local MLA, and local representatives,” Sawant had said.
The government’s move to cancel the project at Melauli was the culmination of six-month-long agitation by residents.
The government had earlier identified sites at Canacona and Sanguem for the institute. Power minister and Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral had said that his constituents “welcome” the project.
IIT-Goa currently functions from the Goa Engineering College campus in Farmagudi, Ponda. The government may now look for sites at Sanguem or Quepem to set up the institute.
It is unfortunate that Goa has over the past few years not been able to finalise a site for IIT campus. It seems the government has failed to learn any lessons from experience—especially from Loliem and Melauli. Environment being a sensitive issue in Goa, the government needs to consult people before going ahead on the subject. No citizen trusts a government which doesn’t follow a transparent process. People are blamed for opposing the projects, but the government fails to take the stakeholders into confidence and explain how the locals would benefit from these projects. This needs to be done at the initial stage itself and not after it is unable to handle the protests.
