Just when one got the impression that the State government had hit the sweet spot on the IIT venue at Farmagudi plateau, the issue of a permanent campus has run into yet another familiar obstacle. The Sunday protest at the site under the banner of the "Save Katamgal" campaign is far more than a local flashpoint; rather, it exposes yet again a deeper failure in how major public projects are conceived and executed.
By transferring five lakh square metres of land soon after receiving clearance from a central committee, the state government appeared eager to fast-track the project. Instead, it reopened old scars, once again demonstrating that little has been learned from earlier failures. The concerns raised by local residents cannot be pushed under the carpet, because there are genuine heritage and religious anxieties.
Reports that survey markers were placed within the sacred precincts of the Katamgal Dada shrine struck at the heart of the community's identity. To government planners, the plateau may appear to be vacant public land. To the people who have lived there for generations, however, it is a living cultural landscape, home to a traditional mango grove and an ancient pathway believed to be watched over by their deity. The construction of a sprawling institutional campus risks fragmenting this landscape and permanently altering a place that holds deep historical and spiritual meaning.
Goa has seen this struggle to find space for an IIT for over a decade. Since 2016, public opposition has derailed proposals at Loliem, Melaulim, Cotarli, Keri and Codar. And the pattern has been almost similar. The common thread running through all these cases is that locals have opposed the project for its environmental impact. The Melaulim agitation, which subsequently turned violent, should in particular have served as a turning point. It demonstrated that imposing large infrastructure projects through bureaucratic fiat is unlikely to succeed in a state where people are deeply invested.
The desire to secure a permanent campus for IIT Goa is entirely understandable. As an institute of national importance, IIT Goa deserves a campus that reflects its stature. A fully developed institution would strengthen higher education in the state, attract research and innovation, and generate long-term economic and academic benefits. After operating for a decade from temporary facilities at the Goa Engineering College, the institute's expansion has inevitably been constrained.
The objective, therefore, is not in dispute. The real question is how the government intends to achieve it. Goa's limited land resources and fragile ecosystems demand a more thoughtful approach to development. Progress cannot be measured solely by how quickly files move through government offices or land is transferred on paper. It must also be judged by whether the people most affected are heard, respected and brought into the process.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's assurance that "not even an inch" of the Katamgal Dada shrine will be disturbed is clearly an effort to calm public sentiment. By acknowledging the shrine's importance and stressing that the project involves government-owned land, the administration hopes to reassure the local community. But such assurances address only one part of a much larger concern. Drawing a protective boundary around the shrine does little to safeguard the broader ecological landscape surrounding it. Nor does it answer legitimate questions about how an expansive campus will reshape access routes or alter the character of the plateau that residents have long regarded as part of their shared heritage.
If the government hopes to end this recurring cycle of conflict, it must prioritise public engagement and show transparency in the thought process. A prestigious institution such as IIT Goa should inspire collective pride rather than provoke resistance expressed through traditional garane.
