Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: The Loliem-Polem Communidade in Canacona taluka is moving ahead with plans to lease out around 33% of its vast 81 lakh square metres of land for various development projects, despite stiff opposition from villagers and environmentalists who warn of threats to the area’s eco-sensitive character.
Communidade president Vishwajit Warik confirmed that about 27.3 lakh sqm—roughly a third of its total land—has already been approved for leasing across seven major projects. These include a 10 lakh sqm lease on the Bhagwati Plateau to the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) for a proposed Film City, a plan local environmentalists strongly oppose, calling the plateau ecologically sensitive and better suited for grazing and farming.
In another major decision, the Communidade has approved 15 lakh sqm of land for Concord Innovations Pvt Ltd to establish a 100 MW solar power plant for Goa—the second-largest land parcel allotted.
Additionally, 1 lakh sqm was approved in April for Mallikarjun Multifruits Processing Producer Company Ltd (where Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar is a director) to set up eight fruit processing units and plantations in the Madditolop area of the village. Other approvals include 50,000 sqm for a Sainik School requested by Vadenagar Shikshan Seva Mandal, and about 81,000 sqm combined for a cricket stadium (Goa Cricket Association), a wayside amenities project (GTDC), and the Communidade’s own office-cum-commercial complex.
Environmentalists and local activists argue these plans disregard a Gram Sabha resolution passed years ago that opposed all non-agricultural development on Bhagwati Plateau—a resolution that famously forced the planned IIT Goa campus to relocate from the village. Residents under the Citizens Committee of Loliem are now organizing door-to-door campaigns to mobilize opposition, vowing to resist any “concretization” of the village.
Asked about the strong local opposition, Warik defended the Communidade’s decisions, saying they aim to balance development with preservation while protecting land from encroachments. “We’ll evaluate new proposals case by case,” he said. “We want to create sustainable employment opportunities and promote local agriculture while ensuring land is available for future generations.”
Warik argued that concerns about grazing and agriculture were often raised to enable encroachment rather than genuine preservation, noting much local farmland has lain fallow for decades. He said the Communidade is committed to reviving agriculture, promoting agri-tourism, developing farm stays, organic farming, local processing, and marketplaces.
“We’ll focus on creating jobs for local youth, skill development in sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurship, and also improve facilities like hospitals, education, and sports,” he said.
Despite his assurances, environmentalists remain unconvinced, warning that large-scale leasing risks transforming a unique, eco-sensitive area into a concrete jungle and robbing future generations of a natural heritage.
