Citizens’ Research Collective on SEZ

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.

In a representation submitted to Chief Secretary J. Harinarayana in the backdrop of the arrest of farmers opposed to the SEZ, K. Balagopal and S. Jeevan Kumar, general secretary and vice-president of HRF, said if the district administration’s claims were true, farmers would not have filed cases in the AP High Court and about 100 petitions before the AP State Human Rights Commission (APSHRC). They sought release of the arrested farmers and withdrawal of cases.

In their petitions they clearly described that devious methods were adopted to coerce the farmers to part with their land. They were falsely told that barring them the others had already sold their land to the developer. In other cases, the developer after buying land from one farmer extended the boundary stones to his neighbours’ land.

Fertile lands
The farmers were also angry that these highly fertile lands were described barren and unproductive by the district authorities. Continuing devious methods, in the sale deeds executed by the so-called willing farmers with the developer, the entire land was shown as barren. The civil rights leaders wondered how this land could be barren when it was partly watered by the left canal of the Godavari barrage and three big tanks.