Pune, January 17, 2008: From being a socialist and an associate of Jayaprakash Narayan, Madhu Dandavate and SM Joshi to promoting a special economic zone (SEZ), Sopan Bhor has certainly come a long way while keeping his principles intact.
In April last year, the 72-year-old Bhor conceptualised the first all-farmer SEZ in the country at a time when industrialists were running long and ugly battles with farmers over acquisition of their lands for SEZs.
“Ours is an SEZ with security and socialism - one that will be democratic, protect the sovereignty of farmers and not result in a single displacement,” says Bhor about the SEZ in his native village Avasari Khurd, some 40 km from Pune.
The dozen Bhor siblings own 15 acres of land in the village with two brothers presently tilling the land.
“Before turning into a businessman, I worked in the state government’s industry department and later as a sales and works manager in an automobile spare parts company. I have also spent 50 years in politics, worked as a labour union leader, represented sick small-scale industries and am presently the secretary (industry and trade) in the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee,” says Bhor.
What amazes one about the man is that despite being only an arts graduate, he has planned and mapped the proposed SEZ meticulously. The white-haired Bhor is armed with every possible information, document, government resolution, map, rule and regulation pertaining to SEZs.
He is aware of the strategic importance of his village as it lies barely 20 km from the proposed international airport at Chakan and is conveniently located near the Pune-Nashik highway and the industrial Pune-Mumbai-Nashik triangle.
Source: Times of India
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