PANAJI
The dispute is almost a decade old. A national premier institute – Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Goa – has been struggling to secure land for its permanent campus since its establishment in July 2016. In its 9th year of functioning, the institute continues to operate from a temporary facility at the Goa Engineering College (GEC), Farmagudi.
Successive BJP-led governments continue to hunt for suitable land, with several proposed sites falling apart due to various reasons such as rejection by the Union Education Ministry, local protests or failure to meet land acquisition criteria. The prolonged land issue for a permanent campus has led to the engineering institute missing out on crucial research and infrastructure grants from the Centre. The institute, in fact, even missed out on the additional infrastructure grants from the Union Ministry of Education, which were announced for all IITs set up after 2014.
The struggle for land continues even with the recent potential site identified in Codar village in Ponda. While the government, through the comunidade, has already issued notice to take over 14 lakh sqare metres of comunidade land there, the villagers are now up in arms.
Land parcels right from Canacona to Sattari to Sanguem were identified for the project over the years. As per the criteria set by the Centre, around 12 lakh sqm of land is necessary to set up an IIT campus.
Loliem-Pollem site identified in 2016
The Union Ministry for Education granted its nod to 300 acres of land in Loliem village under the Loliem-Pollem panchayat in Canacona taluka for setting up a permanent campus.
In February 2016, the Comunidade gave its consent to transfer the land to the State government for setting up the IIT. The government thereafter amended the Goa Legislative Diploma No. 2070 to enable itself to get possession of the land.
Threatened by the move of the Comunidade and the government, the residents of Loliem came together under the banner of ‘Citizens Committee of Loliem’ to oppose the IIT, saying that it threatened their water and livelihood security as well as their cultural rights. They also wanted to preserve the forested parts of the plateau, which share borders with the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi Tiger Reserve.
Loliem residents wrote letters to the Union government and the State government asking for the relocation of the IIT.
In October 2016, they passed a gram sabha resolution banning any non-traditional use of the plateau land, while in November, over 2,000 people attended a special gram sabha that was called for the IIT project to raise their objections. The village was divided into two – those who opposed and those who supported the project. The pro-IIT group made every attempt to salvage the project.
However, with the panchayat polls due and the establishment of the IIT having become a decisive issue, then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in June 2017 announced the shift of the IIT campus to another location.
Site proposed at Cortali (Sanguem) in 2017
The site was finalised by a panel constituted by the Union Education Ministry after the Goa government failed to procure land at the earlier proposed site in South Goa’s Loliem village due to public opposition. About 250 acres of land at the new site was already owned by the State government and the remaining 70 acres were yet to be acquired. The South Goa district administration began preparing for the land acquisition process in October 2017, and the farmers were assured compensation of Rs 450 per sqm. However, protests erupted when one of the tenants threatened to commit suicide if his tenanted land was taken over for the IIT. This was followed by a joint fight put up by Cortali villagers from Sanguem and Nagvem villagers from Quepem taluka.
The IIT was proposed to be built on farmlands and hill slopes falling within the periphery of both villages. The project was backed by MLA Subhash Phal Dessai, who left no stone unturned to ensure that the project came up in his assembly constituency.
However, during a public meeting organised in Sanguem in February 2018, nearly 400 people raised their voices against the proposed campus, claiming that they were not consulted before the site was finalised. They also said that the project site comprised forest areas with dense tree cover, including cashew plantations. They said they were not against the project but against the location chosen for it, and suggested alternate sites in Sanguem.
Yielding to mounting pressure from the farmers, the government in August 2019 decided to shift the IIT campus to another alternative site within Sanguem itself. The move came after the Union government had asked the State to finalise land for the new IIT by August 31, on an ultimatum that if the site was not finalised by the given date, the IIT would be moved out of the state.
Centre rejects alternative site in Sanguem in 2020
The Union Education Ministry’s panel turned down the 7 lakh sqm identified by Goa for the project, terming the area inadequate. The central government officials declined the site after going through the plans, and even refused a site inspection. The land offered was around 6.8 lakh to 7.2 lakh sqm, but only around 2.8 lakh to 3.2 lakh sqm would finally be available for construction, the rest of the land being under green cover. The land also included a hillock, which would prove challenging for construction as the terrain was not flat and therefore not ideal.
Melaulim (Sattari) site proposed in 2020
On January 15, 2021, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that the IIT Goa campus that was to be set up at Melaulim village would be shifted to another place in the State.
The decision capped more than six months of protests, largely by the residents of Melaulim village who had refused to concede land and had set up a blockade at the entrance to the site, refusing to allow government surveyors to enter the village to demarcate the land.
On January 6, violent protests erupted at the site between villagers and the police force. At least 12 policemen and several villagers were injured. The Melaulim villagers, to this day, are facing charges.
In May 2020, after failing three attempts, the government transferred around 10 lakh sqm of land in Melaulim for the setting up of IIT-Goa, a move that saw widespread protests from the villagers.
Melaulim falls in an eco-sensitive zone but hasn’t been formally declared as such. The land on which the IIT was scheduled to come up was revenue land belonging to the government, but the villagers had been using the land for agricultural purposes; however, in the absence of documents, they failed to prove it.
Local MLA and Minister Vishwajit Rane, who supported the project, tried to convince the protesting villagers that the government would take care of their livelihood and ensure proper relocation. The villagers paid no heed to Rane’s assurance and continued with their opposition. The villagers received support from the surrounding villages, as well as political backing from opposition parties. Mounting pressure forced the government to drop its plan.
Site identified at Rivona (Sanguem) in 2024
While here people extended support to the project, land title issues turned out to be a major roadblock, forcing the government to once again begin the hunt to identify new land to establish the campus.
In October 2024, the South Goa district collector issued a public notice for the acquisition of nearly 10.5 lakh sqm in Rivona for the IIT Goa campus. In January this year, the site was even approved by the Union Ministry. However, in the absence of some land titles, the government failed to move ahead.
Dharbandora site proposed in 2025
While the revival plan of the State’s sole sugar factory remained in limbo for quite some time since its closure in 2019, the government decided to utilise the land for setting up the IIT campus, for which even the land demarcation process was initiated. However, the proposal had to be dropped midway due to land issues coupled with protests from sugarcane farmers.
During the demarcation, the government realised large-scale encroachment. More than 4.20 lakh sqm of the 15 lakh sqm of land had already been allotted to educational firms, such as a college run by the trust of MLA Ganesh Gaonkar, and another two lakh sqm to the Union government for setting up a National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU).
Earlier in 2018, two lakh sqm were transferred to the Bar Association for setting up a law college. Authorities also came across illegal encroachment by way of 50 to 60 houses and two stone quarries operating on the land.
