The cricket stadium is part of Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI)'s initiative to construct cricket infrastructure across the country.
Farmers in the village Thivim near here have said they would prefer to sow their paddy fields rather than hand it over to Goa Cricket Association(GCA) to build a cricket stadium.
"We don't want to host IPL. Instead give us some water so that we can sow the seeds and harvest the paddy," Uday Malwankar, a farmer from Thivim village in North Goa, told PTI.
The village group was in Panaji today to attend a meeting conveyed by Goa Bachao Abhiyaan, a non government organization (NGO) to chalk out plans to ensure the farmers' land is not taken away to construct a stadium.
The cricket stadium is part of Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI)'s initiative to construct cricket infrastructure across the country. Goa cabinet gave an in-principle approval for this project in March 2007.
"We have refused to part with our paddy fields. We have been fighting against the stadium project for almost half a decade now. The government had at one time given up the project but suddenly from out of the blue, the project has been reactivated," Malwankar said.
The farmers have rejected a meagre compensation of Rs5 per sq metre offered to them when they were called by district administration to sign a document.
A total of 1.30 lakh sq mts land is proposed to be acquired for building a stadium.
"We are forced to keep our fields barren because there is no water. We used to cultivate land till few years back. We are now waiting for Tillari irrigation project to irrigate our fields," Malwankar, who was present for the meeting along with other farmers, said.
"The issue is not just of paddy field. There is a huge forest area with rich flora and fauna in it. More than 5,000 trees are going to be felled for this project," Savio D'Souza, a local activist, said.
"Of the total land, 43,000 sq mts is forest, 25,000 sq mts is paddy fields and 60,000 sq mts is orchard," he said showing a map.
Goa Bachao Abhiyan convenor Sabina Martins said that since the proposed stadium falls in an eco sensitive zone, the state government should conduct impact assessment study before going ahead with the project.
"This issue will be discussed with the chief minister when we will meet him on April 15," she added.
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