Staff Reporter
Panaji
The state government’s failure to secure suitable land for a permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Goa could result in the state missing out on additional funding for infrastructure expansion.
The observation comes after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Union budget 2025-26 that five IITs established after 2014 would receive additional infrastructure support.
In her budget speech on February 1, Sitharaman highlighted that the number of students across the 23 IITs had doubled in the past decade, and additional infrastructure would be implemented in the five IITs set up after 2014, including IIT Goa.
This expansion aims to accommodate 6,500 more students. The objective is also to improve hostel and infrastructure facilities at IIT Patna.
The five IITs mentioned include IIT Goa, IIT Dhanbad (ISM), IIT Bhilai, IIT Jammu, and IIT Dharwad.
While IIT Goa was established in 2016, it has been operating from a temporary campus at the Goa Engineering College in Farmagudi in Ponda taluka.
The technology institute has yet to secure its own permanent campus, primarily due to the state government’s inability to finalise suitable land.
Though the government has made efforts to identify land, its approach has faced challenges, particularly due to a lack of consultation with stakeholders and local communities.
Initially, land at Loliem in Canacona taluka was proposed but abandoned after strong opposition from locals.
Similarly, a site in Cotarli in Sanguem taluka was dropped due to people’s opposition and technical issues.
The government later proposed land at Melaulim in Sattari taluka but faced resistance from locals who argued that the site was agricultural land and would impact their livelihood.
This led to a long agitation, with the police filing cases against villagers and others.
After a change in government in 2022, a new proposal was made for land in Rivona village in Sanguem taluka. Approximately 10.49 lakh square metre of land at Malewada-Rivona was identified and approved by the Union ministry of education’s selection committee.
However, due to documentation issues, the government has not moved forward with the proposal, causing further delays.
As a result of these setbacks, the state may lose out on additional funds for the IIT campus, as outlined in the Union budget announcement.
