MAPUSA
The “Chimbel effect” seems to have travelled to Tivim. What began as a localised resistance elsewhere in the State has now injected fresh energy into the Tivim village, where residents say it is time to draw the line.
Calling it an “Enough is Enough” campaign to protect Goa’s land, villagers of Tivim are regrouping, their anger reignited over alleged hill cutting and large-scale destruction to make way for a private university campus.
With messages circulating rapidly on social media, locals have called for a protest meeting on February 19 at the construction site at Cansa, Tivim, where work on the proposed campus of MIT World Peace University is in full swing.
“The hills of Tivim are being cut down. Concrete is replacing our green fields. While World Peace University builds, our ecosystem dies. Despite the High Court observing signs of fraud and a lease granted for a mere ₹12.50 per sqm, the legal system has failed us,” reads a strongly worded note being shared by a group of concerned villagers.
Residents allege that excavation work on the verdant hill is progressing at a hectic pace, with more than 1,000 trees marked for felling. The once-green slopes, they claim, are steadily giving way to machines and mounds of red earth.
“Work is going on the hill at a hectic pace with hills being cut down. More than 1,000 trees are to be cut. Now, the power lies with the people. We want people of Tivim and Goa to join our protest to save the hills and land of our village,” said Godfrey D’Lima, one of the villagers leading the renewed mobilisation.
Tensions have escalated further after a recent survey at Pod-vaddo, Tivim, reportedly to construct a 10-metre-wide access road to the hilltop campus. Residents in the area say they have been told that portions of some verandas may have to be surrendered for the widening, leaving families anxious and resentful.
The university project has been contentious from the start.
Villagers and activists had earlier mounted a legal challenge against the allotment of land. However, the Bombay High Court at Goa dismissed the petition, paving the way for the Pune-based institution to proceed.
Despite sustained protests over alleged environmental damage, loss of land and claims of procedural irregularities, the State government declared the area an Investment Promotion Area (IPA), effectively clearing administrative hurdles for the project.
Now, as bulldozers carve into the hillside and survey markings inch closer to homes, Tivim is once again bracing for confrontation.
