Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday told the Legislative Assembly that the state has planned to shift the proposed IIT campus from Melauli village in Sattari taluka, which had faced stiff agitation by locals.

The villagers of Melauli had protested for several months last year against the proposed IIT project in their village, claiming that the facility was usurping their land. They had demanded that the project be scrapped. In a written reply, Sawant told the House that the IIT project is being proposed to be shifted to another site.

"A committee has been constituted for identification of new site for setting up of the permanent campus of IIT in the state of Goa," he said. The chief minister said that the decision to shift the project from Melauli was taken after the government received representations from the villagers objecting to the identified site.

"After consultation with ministers and the local MLA, we have decided to shift the proposed project to another location, respecting the wishes of the villagers," he said.