Goa govt decides to shift IIT project out of Sattari

Bowing to public pressure, theGoa government on Friday announced that the proposed IITcampus at Shel Melaulim village in Sattari taluka will beshifted to another part of the state.

The project has met with severe opposition fromlocals, who staged a large-scale protest at the village,insisting that they will not part with their land for thecampus.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant held a meeting with thesarpanches and Zilla Panchayat members from Sattari taluka athis official residence on Thursday evening in presence ofstate Health Minister and Valpoi MLA Vishwajit Rane.

Speaking to reporters, the chief minister said thestate government has decided to shift the project out ofSattari due to the constant opposition from locals.

''We respect the sentiments of people, which is why wehave decided to shift the project out of Sattari,'' he said,adding that the government is yet to decide on an alternativesite.

The project was planned from the perspective ofdevelopment, but the state government could not convincelocals, he said.

Earlier this week, Rane had appealed to the chiefminister to shift the project considering the opposition to itand had urged him to withdraw cases registered againstprotestors.

At least 12 policemen and several villagers wereinjured when both groups clashed in the forest area nearShel-Melaulim village last week.

Sawant said that the police will review the casesfiled against protestors.

''There are requests to withdraw the cases filedagainst protestors. There is a process which needs to befollowed. We are reviewing the cases,'' he said.