Gram sabha nod must for SEZs: Medha

Special Correspondent

Civil society groups and farmers' representatives oppose creation of Special Economic Zones 
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SEZs allowed to come up without compensating the displaced farmers
Every job offer in the SEZ would displace 30 jobs in the unorganised sector
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NEW DELHI: Civil society groups and farmers' representatives Wednesday opposed the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and questioned the special concessions and tax holiday being offered to profit-making industries.

They also demanded that all land acquired for the SEZs be returned to farmers and the land redistributed to the landless and marginal farmers. These farmers should be given "special concessions" for inputs such as decentralised irrigation, indigenous seeds and organic manure.

Announcing a "jan andolan" (people's movement) under the banner of the National Alliance of People's Movements here, Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar said that though the SEZ Act had been approved by Parliament, there should be a national consultation on the concept, as people had not been taken into confidence.

"Industries can be complementary to agriculture, but not at the cost of agriculture. Approval from `gram sabhas' should be a pre-condition.''

Ms. Patkar said thousands of farmers ere being displaced and their livelihoods hit.

"The National Rehabilitation Policy framed by the National Advisory Council, then headed by Sonia Gandhi, has been put on hold to allow all SEZs to come up without industrialists having to give compensation to those farmers and farm labour who are being displaced and who will lose their livelihood. This will distort the balanced growth of economy, natural resources, food security and entire development process."

"A system of apartheid"


Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said: "SEZ is a system of apartheid, the return of the old system of zamindari. There will be a preferred group of people/industrialists in these enclaves just because they happened to grab a piece of land approved as SEZ as opposed to those who are outside of the SEZ.

"One can understand concessions if an industry is set up in a backward region or desert, but what is the logic of giving concessions to SEZs set up in metropolitan areas. This will sound the death knell of all industry outside the SEZs and have enormous implications for other industry, government revenue, environment and labour.''

He said Section 49 under the Act gave such sweeping powers to the Government that it could, by notification, exempt any SEZ or all SEZs from the application of any law or all laws. "This should be challenged."

Sanjay Sangvai asserted that democracy required discussion with people. "Many people opposed reservation for Other Backward Classes, but what of this reservation being made for big industrialists and builders?"

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Arun Kumar said past experience showed that big companies did not honour their commitments on employment generation.

"The SEZs would create havoc because peasants do not know how to invest the money they get for their land. Every job offer in the SEZ would displace 30 jobs in the unorganised sector. Justice may seem to be done but there is very little justice for the poor in the SEZ system," he said.

A farmers' representative from Pune, Prasad Bagwe of the Ekvira Zamin Bachao Andolan, said farmers were very angry, as large tracts of fertile land were being grabbed for the SEZs.

"The meagre money a farmer gets for his land does not last long and a job, if at all, to one person lasts only one generation. What about the rest of the family? They will be pushed to penury."

http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/28/stories/2006092820981400.htm