NT Reporter
Ponda
Power Minister Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar on Thursday suggested that permanent campus of IIT Goa should be set up in Farmagudi by utilising the land available at Goa Engineering College (GEC) and acquiring additional tracts nearby.
Speaking to mediapersons over the strong opposition to the IIT project at Codar in Bethoda, Dhavalikar said, “My first preference for setting up the permanent campus of IIT-Goa would be Farmagudi. The transit campus of IIT-Goa is already functioning at GEC.”
He said GEC has around 11 lakh square metres of land, out of which 6 lakh has been used by the engineering college and 1 lakh by the Industrial Training Institute.
“The remaining land can be used for setting up IIT-Goa campus. Besides, additional land in the surrounding areas can be acquired too,” he said.
The minister said he had earlier put forth this idea but it was rejected since IIT requires 9 to 12 lakh sq m of land, which is difficult to acquire in Goa.
“If the central government reconsiders the required land and goes for vertical buildings, IIT campus is possible at Farmagudi.”
“Secondly, Farmagudi is already an educational hub, and an IIT campus will enhance its importance,” Dhavalikar said.
However, Revolutionary Goans Party members criticised the minister over his suggestion, asking him to allot his personal land to the IIT project.
Speaking to reporters in Ponda, RGP vice-president Vishvesh Naik claimed that Goa doesn’t have enough land for the project, which entails more than 15 lakh sq m of land.
