Citizens’ Research Collective on SEZ

Santosh Patnaik

Rachapalli, November 11, 2007: Farmers, who are seething with anger against bauxite mining in the agency area, have taken a pledge not to allow survey teams for acquisition of lands for Ras Al-Khaimah’s aluminium refinery under the pretext of developing a Special Economic Zone.

Hundreds of project-affected people attended the valedictory of an eight-day padayatra by CPI activists from Sapparla in the agency to Rachapalli in Makavarapalem mandal on Sunday, traversing a distance of 250 km against bauxite mining and setting up of aluminium refinery by RAK, a constituent of UAE, with an investment of Rs.10,000 crores.

Tribals from Chintapalle took part in the rally along with bow and arrow to express solidarity with the farmers of 13 villages in the mandal who are on agitation mode against land acquisition notification for the refinery.

Addressing a meeting here, CPI State secretary K. Narayana charged the State Government with turning into a land broker for the corporates. “First they said land acquisition is for RAK and later issued the notification for an industrial park. Now they are saying it is for SEZ,” he stated.

Relay fast planned
He said that for the Pharma City project, the Government gave land at Rs.4 lakhs to Rs.5 lakhs through APIIC to Ramky and now the promoter was selling land in the SEZ being developed by it at Rs.75 lakhs an acre.

Was it the business of the State to encourage real estate trade by big companies by paying peanuts to the farmers, he questioned.

He said they would launch a relay hunger strike here to protest land acquisition from November 15.

Telugu Desam MLA and former Minister Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu accused Minister for Commercial Taxes Konathala Ramakrishna of inaction and Joint Collector M. Veerabrahmaiah for threatening to acquire land even without the consent of the farmers and declared that their party would file a writ in the High Court against project on Monday.

“The people here don’t know about the project and the stake they would have in it. And when we met him, he promised to pay a compensation of just Rs.2.40 lakh an acre,” he bemoaned.

CPI district secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy, who presided, said some Congress activists who opposed the bauxite project had changed their stand due to pressure from their leaders.

Chintapalle MLA G. Demudu, former Pendurthy MLA Manam Anjaneyulu, CPI (M) leader Balakrishna, Samata executive director Rebbapragda Ravi and others spoke.

Source: The Hindu