IIT Goa Campus: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announces plans for South Goa location

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced a campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will be established in South Goa, and efforts are currently underway to locate a suitable piece of land for the project.

The state government had previously identified land for the IIT campus at Shel-Melaulim village in Sattari taluka of North Goa district, but the project was abandoned due to violent protests by locals in 2021. Afterwards, another piece of land was chosen at Cotarli in Sanguem taluka of South Goa district, however, it was deemed inadequate and the project was abandoned last year.

During the recent winter session of the Goa Assembly, the topic of the IIT Goa campus and land acquisition was discussed. The Chief Minister stated that some individuals were opposing the acquisition of land for the campus. To avoid unnecessary protests, he declined to reveal the location where the land was being identified, as reported by PTI.

Further, during a discussion in the House on the issue, Congress MLA Altone D'Costa, who represents the Quepem Assembly segment in South Goa, had asked the state government to set up the IIT campus in his constituency. He had said land was available at Betul in Quepem constituency to set up the institute campus.