Citizens’ Research Collective on SEZ

Panaji, November 10, 2007: Goa’s Movement Against SEZ (GMAS) will launch an agitation if the government fails to announce the cancellation of all Special Economic Zones in Goa by the earlier-set deadline of November 20, 2007. Announcing this at a press conference today, the GMAS convenor Mr Mathany Saldanha said that the GMAS will meet the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat on November 12 and present him a memorandum demanding the cancellation and withdrawal of all SEZs in Goa.

Mr Saldanha said the main demand in the memorandum is the cancellation of all SEZs, IT parks and Food parks in Goa. The other demands in the memorandum are; freeze all works on the two notified SEZs at Keri and Verna with immediate effect; do not notify the five SEZs proposed, one at Sancoale, three in Verna and one at Soccoro which have been approved by the central government. Send a letter to the central government asking for withdrawal of these SEZs; withdraw applications of eight SEZs at Soccoro, Colvale, Betul, Verna, Guleli, Loliem and Pernem; do not even process the three proposed SEZs in Panaji, Quitol and Zuarinagar.

The GMAS will hold a public meeting at Keri on November 14, 2007 to protest the proposed SEZ there. Mr Saldanha clarified that the GMAS agitation is not a power struggle. ‘’There is an open agreement and consensus among all political parties, NGOs and individuals within the GMAS to oppose the SEZs in Goa. “ Mr Saldanha said.

He said that according to information obtained from the government under the Right To Information, the government is projecting that 9,77,100 jobs will be created in Goa from the 18 SEZs. But Goa has only about 80,000 people who are unemployed. So the balance about 9-lakh people will have to come from outside Goa to fill the vacancies. This will burden the existing infrastructure such that Goa will not be able to sustain the burgeoning population.

Mr Saldanha also said that SEZs are supposed to be set up in backward and underdeveloped areas and that there are no such areas in Goa. Also, Goa does not have the people to work in the SEZs for the low wages that will be paid there. The work at Verna has started without the SEZ having been notified and this is a crime, he said.

The SEZs were part of the Regional Plan 2011 and since the RP2011 has been scrapped, the SEZs should have been scrapped with it. We have serious doubts whether the government is interested in the welfare of the people of the state or in the welfare of some vested interests, Mr Saldanha said. When told that the government had termed some of the projects, not as SEZs but as parks, Mr Saldanha said according to the information obtained under the Right to Information, the government has clearly declared that such parks are undertaken under the SEZ Act. ‘’There is no question of the government calling them parks. All parks are SEZs,’’ Mr Saldanha said.

Source: The Navhind Times