Citizens’ Research Collective on SEZ

Sanjay Jog

Mumbai, November 11, 2007: Even as the Left Front government in West Bengal grapples to tackle the violence in Nandigram over land acquisition, the Congress-led government in Maharashtra has preferred to take the consensus route for upcoming special economic zones (SEZs). The government has reiterated that land acqusition for over 120 SEZs approved by the Board of Approval (BoA) would not be done under coercion but by arriving at a consensus with landowners/farmers.

Last week, the government stayed land acqusition for the Videocon-promoted multi product SEZ at Wagholi in Pune district after local resentment. In fact, Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, who hails from Pune district, played a major role in avoiding any confrontation with locals and convince the state government that land acqusition would be done after the promoters and locals arrived at a consensus. Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who has spelt out the government’s stand on land acquisition for SEZs and other projects several times, once again made it clear that though the state government was in favour of various development projects, including SEZs, this would not be done at the cost of interests of locals/farmers.

A senior government official told FE tthat of the 120 SEZs sanctioned by BoA in Maharashtra, nearly 25 would be developed by the state-run Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation, while the rest will be carried out either in joint venture between MIDC and the private sector or solely by the private sector. As far as MIDC-promoted projects are concerned, land acquisiton would not be an issue. But in the case of private projects and those to be developed as joint ventures, land acquisition would be carried out only after taking locals/farmers into confidence and certainly not under dueress.”

Finally, the government has woken up and done the right thing in staying the land acqusition for the Wagholi project, said a representative of the anti-SEZ organisation, which has been active in opposing the Reliance Industries Ltd promoted MahaMumbai SEZ in coastal Raigad district.

Source: The Financial Express