The conflict between the government and the agitating Melauli villagers over setting up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the area is heading towards a flashpoint. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has given a raw deal to the agitating locals. The offer to compensate villagers with valid documents is ridiculous because a few of them have title rights. Significant numbers of locals don't have their names registered on Form 1 & XIV. The job offers and an assurance to compensate for the loss of produce remain very vague at this point.
People are inhabitants here since times immemorial and survive on horticulture produce across vast expanses, primarily cashew plantations. Snatching these properties would affect the lives of these people. The IIT is indeed a national pride, a project the government can boast of. But it cannot be built by trampling over the livelihoods of these people, especially in such critical times. Another fear is that the sprawling educational institute spanning across nearly 10 lakh sq mts will destroy the rich biodiversity of the area. Approximately 81.38 hectares of land out of the 1,629.14 hectares in Melauli is a forested area, and it is declared as an ecologically sensitive area of the Western Ghats.
The IIT project has faced rough weather ever since the government announced plans. Several representations, including letters to the Chief Minister and the Governor, have been ignored. The Melauli land has been handed over to the IIT despite the discontentment among villagers. The only concession was the 45 thousand sq mts land that was excluded from the project area because of a temple.
The agitation only goes on to show that Sawant and his team have not learned lessons from past failures. The Melauli template bears the same script as that of the Canacona IIT site. The question is: why are people not taken into confidence? Why was land handed over to IIT without getting an all-clear from locals?
Successive BJP governments have failed to take the people along the road to development. If we may recall, after a series of agitations, the then BJP-led coalition government led by Manohar Parrikar had to beat a retreat in June 2017 and call off the proposal to construct an IIT atop the Bhagwati Plateau in Canacona. Subsequently, the proposal at Sanguem also fell flat because of people's opposition. The common thread in all these proposals is that they are imposed on people. Livelihoods, habitats and ecology are threatened.
There is prestige behind the IIT project, but the government cannot achieve it by bulldozing against the wishes of locals. The government must have a plan B in place and can explore options even in Farmagudi where the IIT is currently housed, and where the government owns sizable land. The fury among the people, especially women, is evident. Fighting the people is only going to widen the cracks of distrust.
