SEZs: Stirring up a storm along the Indian coast

By Manshi Asher

The SEZ issue is being highlighted as a farmers’ issue, with a rehabilitation policy being worked out for those who will lose their land. But with 80% of approved SEZs in coastal states, what about the thousands of fisherfolk who will lose livelihoods based on the sea, estuaries and coastal systems?

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An article by Manju Menon, Kanchi Kohli and Divya Badami on Environment and Forest Clearance issues in SEZs

Click here to download the Article (PDF)

The material here will be familiar to most readers of this blog.

War zones
The present and future of India’s SEZs

Indian policymakers rush headlong towards the discredited model of China’s Special Economic Zones, even as people-power movements pose a challenge.

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From the mid-’80s, China experienced a ‘zone fever’ much like India’s, with millions of hectares of agricultural land being transferred to infrastructure and industrial use. But Beijing woke up in time to the dangers of the speculative bubble thus created and acted to conserve arable lands. (more…)

Using data given in the attached article from Deccan Herald, one can do some interesting computations.

20,000 litres of milk, 5000 kgs of silk cocoons and 120,000 kg of vegetables are produced by the people of Nandagudi every day. This gives work to about 5000 people every day, supporting 25,000 people across 36 villages. (more…)

Worth skimming. Businessworld.in

Important arguments presented against SEZs:

- that infrastructure will be created only by multiproduct SEZs and will be captive (eg Reliance in Dadri or Jhajjar). Also, danger that even golf courses can come under “infrastructure” as defined. (more…)