With two new crucial Bills, the State is set to give itself even more teeth to aid the corporate takeover of land, say MANSHI ASHER and MANJU MENON
OF THE 13 Bills introduced in Parliament this winter, two critical ones included the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill and the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill 2007. The Bills were preceded by a National Rehabilitation and Resettlement policy, which was passed by the Cabinet on October 11, 2007. These legislations and policies are being touted as timely and a solution to what many call a “trouble-free” land acquisition. On the contrary, activists and NGOs fear that the ground is being set by the state to arm itself, once again, with unprecedented legal powers to aid and abet the corporate takeover of land. Continue reading ‘Land For The Landed?’
Praveen Krishnan and Deepak Raghu, 21 Jan, 2008
SEZs in India have attracted a lot of public attention in the year that went by, and most of it has been negative. Year 2007 saw the concepts of SEZ come under the scanner with , Nandigram, Navi Mumbai and very recently Goa. For a Bill of national importance that became an Act without much debate in Parliament, the discussion (sometimes violent) seems to have moved to the national stage with some politicking thrown in for good measure. Continue reading ‘SEZs: Grounded before takeoff?’
Hyderabad, January 20, 2008: The Bharatiya Janata Party has expressed concern over farmers losing their lands with Government literally ‘grabbing’ them in the name of special economic zones (SEZs). It has accused the Government of ‘robbing’ ryots of their livelihood. Continue reading ‘State ‘robbing ryots’ in the name of SEZs: BJP’
Hyderbad, January 20, 2008: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) disputed the government’s claim that half of the nearly 10,000 acres needed for the proposed Kakinada Special Economic Zone was voluntarily sold by the landholder to the developer and that the allotted land was barren. Continue reading ‘State claim on Kakinada SEZ disputed’
V. JAYANTH, January 21, 2008
Developments in Goa on the special economic zones (SEZs), especially the controversy over the denotification of zones, have brought the whole concept and scheme back into focus. In the light of these developments, and the controversies generated in West Bengal over Nandigram and Singur, it is perhaps time for the Centre to review the policy on SEZs. It may not be enough to just look at compensation and rehabilitation aspects alone. Continue reading ‘Economic zone policy review gains urgency’
New Delhi January 20, 2008 (PTI): An empowered group of ministers ( eGoM) will consider next month whether Essar Steel’s SEZ project at Hazira has violated norms, which stipulate that such zones shall be set up on vacant land, an issue that has created inter-ministerial differences. Continue reading ‘Essar Steel SEZ at Hazira referred to eGoM’
Makarand Gadgil
Mumbai January 20, 2008: Reliance Industries-promoted Mumbai SEZ Private Ltd, which is developing a 1,000-hectare multi-product special economic zone on the outskirts of the city, has managed to buy 1,000 hectares of contiguous land from farmers. Continue reading ‘RIL acquires 1,000 hectares for Mumbai SEZ’
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