Panaji: State govt has shortlisted the land belonging to the Sanjivani Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd at Dharbandora to execute its ambitious plan to set up a permanent campus for Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Goa.
State govt had transferred the land belonging to the sugar factory to set up the campus of the International Law University, but now, govt decided to shift the same to Mayem. The land allotted to the university, as well as additional land, will be utilised to set up the permanent IIT-Goa campus.
“We have shortlisted sugar factory land to set up a permanent campus for IIT-Goa,” chief minister Pramod Sawant told TOI.
Before shortlisting the sugar factory site, state govt had identified land for the IIT-Goa campus at Rivona, Sanguem, but due to issues pertaining to the title of the land, govt dropped the plans to set up the permanent campus there. This forced govt to again begin the hunt to identify new land to establish the campus.
State govt has also granted land belonging to the sugar factory to set up the campus of the National Forensic Sciences University.
The South Goa district collector had issued a public notice for the acquisition of nearly 10.5 lakh sqm at Rivona for the IIT-Goa campus.
In Jan last year, official approval for the land came from the Union education ministry. Prior to that, the land selected for the IIT-campus in Sanguem was rejected by the Union ministry as being unsuitable for the project.
There were also protests from farmers who claimed that they were cultivating in the area.
IIT-Goa became operational in the state in 2016, and has been functioning from a temporary campus at the Goa Engineering College premises at Farmagudi. Several land parcels identified for the permanent campus project over the years have either been rejected by the Union education ministry’s site selection committee or faced protests from locals due to several reasons.
The Union education ministry’s requirements state that 12 lakh sqm is necessary to set up an IIT, but former CM Manohar Parrikar told Centre that given Goa’s land constraints, 6 lakh sqm would be provided for the campus.
Earlier, Goa govt identified land in Canacona taluka for the IIT campus, but due to opposition, it was shifted. There were protests against handing over huge swathes of land for the campus.
When the project was proposed in Melauli, Sattari, locals organised a sustained protest against it. In Jan 2021, there were clashes between protesters and police personnel at the site. Soon after, Sawant, citing “people’s sentiments”, announced that govt would scrap the project and move it elsewhere.
