Pune, July 23, 2007: Farmers from Avasari Khurd village in Ambegaon taluka, who have sought Special Economic Zone status for their village, have decided to set up their new company — the Avasari Khurd Industrial Development Pvt Ltd. A meeting of farmers has been convened on August 15 to discuss modalities of forming the company.
Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA) coordinator Sopan Bhor — who has brought the farmers on a common platform — on Monday said over 1,500 farmers from the village would attend the meeting. “The formation of the company is one of the prerequisites for the SEZ. Every farmer will be a shareholder of the company. Each of them will contribute an initial amount of Rs one lakh. Later, their shareholding will be decided by the value of their land,” Bhor said.
The meeting assumes significance as it would deal with a host of issues relating to SEZ. Bhor said, “There is a new wave of enthusiasm among the farming community of the village. Everybody seems to be eager to see an industrial atmosphere around their village. The meeting will be crucial to get the new company on the tracks. Every query of farmers will be answered and doubts, if any, will be clarified.”
Bhor said the Avasari Khurd farmers have received a letter from the State Industry Ministry, urging them to submit their proposal for SEZ as per requisite form. “The Industry Ministry has asked us to start working on the project. And accordingly, formation of the company will be the first step in that direction.”
When contacted in Mumbai, officials in the Industry Ministry said the initiative taken by the Avasari farmers is a welcome step. “We have asked the farmers to submit their proposal in the necessary format. Our committee will then go through the proposal and make necessary recommendations to the Centre,” officials said.
As reported by Pune Newsline on July 8, the Avasari Khurd Gram Panchayat had on June 27 passed a unanimous resolution seeking Special Economic Zone status for their village which is located about 20 km from the proposed international airport at Rajgurunagar. Subsequently, on July 5, the Gram Sabha passed a resolution seeking SEZ status for the village.
A copy of the resolution was immediately sent to the State Government and the Central Government. Bhor said as per the SEZ norms, the approval of the Gram Sabha is mandatory. “After the Nandigram incident, the Central Government had introduced the clause of mandatory sanction from the gram sabha for getting special economic zone status,” he said.
0 Responses to “Avasari Khurd farmers to form new company on Aug 15”
Leave a Reply
You must login to post a comment.