{"id":105680,"date":"2025-09-14T19:01:57","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T13:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=105680"},"modified":"2025-09-14T19:01:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T13:31:57","slug":"aap-urges-cm-to-relocate-iit-project-from-codar-bethora-livelihoods-water-and-ecology-cannot-be-sacrificed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=105680","title":{"rendered":"AAP urges CM to relocate IIT project from Codar-Bethora: Livelihoods, water and ecology cannot be sacrificed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Goa Khabar : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa stands firmly with the villagers of Codar-Bethora in their opposition to the proposed IIT project on cultivable land. AAP Goa President Adv. Amit Palekar, along with senior party leaders, met the villagers on Saturday and assured them of AAP\u2019s full support in protecting their land, water, and environment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

AAP has made it clear: Goans welcome premier institutions like IIT, but not at the cost of destroying the lives and future of the local communities.<\/p>\n

AAP\u2019s Key Concerns<\/p>\n

1. Attack on ST Community Livelihoods<\/p>\n

Palekar said the government is deliberately targeting cultivable land belonging to Scheduled Tribe (ST) families.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cFirst they tried in Sattari, then in Sanguem, and now in Codar. The pattern is clear. Farming and horticulture are the only livelihood of these families. Calling their fertile land barren or rocky is not only false but insulting,\u201d Palekar said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2. No Basic Facilities for Codar Villagers<\/p>\n

He added that Codar lacks even a primary school or an Anganwadi.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore talking about IIT, the government should first provide our children with basic facilities like schools. Not at the cost of destroying villagers\u2019 only source of survival,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

3. Water Security at Risk<\/p>\n

Palekar raised concerns about the Opa water system:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis land sustains the Opa water system. Even today villagers do not get enough water for farming or drinking. An IIT here will worsen the crisis. The government must answer how they will manage this.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Ecological Damage<\/p>\n

He also warned of ecological disaster:<\/p>\n

\u201cCodar has a delicate ecosystem where tigers, peacocks, and other wildlife co-exist with humans. Destroying this green cover will displace animals and lead to human-animal conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other AAP Leaders Speak Out<\/p>\n

Shrikrishna Parab, General Secretary (Organisation):<\/p>\n

\u201cGoans have seen how so-called development projects elsewhere failed to give jobs to locals. Codar villagers fear the same. Farming is their only livelihood. They don\u2019t trust the BJP government\u2019s promises anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandesh Teleikar Dessai, AAP Leader:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy doesn\u2019t the BJP government consult villagers before bringing projects that affect their lives the most? True governance means participation, not imposition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vinay Velip, AAP Leader:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BJP government is falsely calling fertile, cultivable land barren just to push this IIT project. This is nothing but betrayal of the ST community whose survival depends on this land.\u201d<\/p>\n

AAP\u2019s Call to Action<\/p>\n

AAP urges Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant to immediately relocate the IIT project to a suitable site that does not endanger livelihoods, water sources, and ecology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome institutions like IIT. But true development must respect people and the environment. We will stand with Codar villagers in this fight for justice,\u201d Palekar declared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goa Khabar : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa stands firmly with the villagers of Codar-Bethora in their opposition to the proposed IIT project on cultivable land. AAP Goa President Adv. Amit Palekar, along with senior party leaders, met the villagers on Saturday and assured them of AAP\u2019s full support in protecting their land, water, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25169,"featured_media":105681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,155],"tags":[3794],"class_list":["post-105680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-goa-khabar-video","category-155","tag-featured"],"read":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=105680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105683,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105680\/revisions\/105683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/105681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=105680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=105680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=105680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}