Panaji: The Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, has announced that work is underway to locate an appropriate site in South Goa for an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus. In the past, the state government had planned to build the IIT campus in Shel-Melaulim village, Sattari taluka, North Goa district, but in 2021, the plan was cancelled due to violent protests from locals. Later, another piece of land in the South Goa district's Sanguem taluka near Cotarli was discovered; however, because it was insufficient, the project was dropped last year. The matter was discussed during the Goa Assembly's recent winter session. On Monday, Sawant told reporters that "The IIT campus would be set up in South Goa. Search for the land is going on."Â Â The Chief Minister had previously mentioned in the state Assembly that there were many who were against acquiring property for the IIT Goa campus.
He had declined to disclose the location of the identified land because he feared "unnecessary protest."
Congress MLA Altone D'Costa of the Quepem Assembly segment in South Goa had requested that the state government establish the IIT campus in his district during a House debate on the matter. Betul, in the Quepem constituency, is where he mentioned finding suitable land for the institute's campus.—Inputs from Agencies