Urges people not to oppose project ‘just for sake of it’
PANAJI
A day after villagers of Codar-Bethora strongly opposed the proposed IIT Goa project in their village, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant hit out at the protestors, saying the IIT is a national interest project that will benefit Goa. He cautioned people against opposing it “just for the sake of it.”
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Sawant stressed the educational opportunities the project could provide for Goan youth. He also said that in a State with 100 per cent literacy, such a “mindset” should not exist. “Why are people opposing a project like IIT? One should not unnecessarily oppose the IIT project just for the sake of it; we need to welcome such initiatives. Let people tell me why they are opposing…let them tell what the reasons are,” Sawant said.
“Someone is instigating and people are falling prey to it. People with such a negative mindset are not letting national-level projects to come up in Goa,” he added.
The CM said IIT is a national-level project and Goa, being a nationalist State, should support it. He added that projects like IIT are the need of the hour for the next generation. “At present, around 10–12 students from Goa secure admissions to IITs in states like Vellore and Chhattisgarh. With a campus here, Goan students will have a better option,” he said.
According to a notice issued by the Central Communidade on August 19, the government plans to acquire about 14.5 lakh sq. metres of Communidade land for the project. People have been given 30 days to raise their objections, if any.
Earlier attempts to set up the IIT campus at Loliem-Canacona, Melauli-Sattari, and Cotarli-Sanguem were dropped after protests, while sites at Rivona-Sanguem and Dharbandora were shelved due to land acquisition issues.
