Rights forum wants SEZ Act scrapped

Our Bureau

Visakhapatnam , Oct. 23

The Human Rights Forum has urged the Union Government to scrap the
Special Economic Zone Act, 2005, as "it subverts the spirit of the
Constitution by depriving the rural artisans, farmers and fishermen of
their livelihood and creates real estate enclaves masquerading as
industrial zones."

Mr K. Balagopal, General Secretary of the Forum, and Mr V.S. Krishna,
Secretary, made the plea at a press conference here on Sunday evening
after touring the villages in Rambilli and Atchyuthapuram mandals in
Visakhapatnam district where 9,200 acres of land was acquired for the
first phase of a special economic zone.

The State Government is proposing to acquire 10,000 acres more in the
face of stiff resistance from farmers in the two mandals for the second
phase of the SEZ. Mr Balagopal said the Government said could allot
lands to industries in areas not particularly suited for agriculture.

But even in those areas only the bare minimum should be given. "If the
industrialist, or entrepreneur, wants more than what is allotted, he
should buy it from farmers or others at market rates, if they are
willing to part with those lands. It is not the job of the Government to
acquire huge tracts of land — 10,000 or 20,000 acres — and hand them
over to the industrialists on a platter. In the process, farmers, rural
artisans and fishermen are being pauperised. We, therefore, want the SEZ
Act scrapped," he said.

`Meaningless' acquisition

He said the whole debate over SEZs, and the opinion expressed by some
people that only barren or single-crop lands should be acquired, was
meaningless. "You cannot find 10,000 acres or 20,000 acres, of barren
land except in the Thar desert. There is enormous pressure on land and
it is silly to suggest that such huge tracts of land are lying
unutilised," he said.

Mr Krishna said the lands acquired for the first phase in the two
mandals could by no stretch of imagination be called barren or
single-crop lands. "All sorts of crops are being grown there and small
and marginal farmers are eking out their livelihood without any support
from the Government. In fact, it should be declared a special
agricultural zone and they should be encouraged. It is a crime to snatch
lands from them and hand them over to industrialists," he alleged.

He also took exception to the exemptions being given to the
entrepreneurs with regard to labour laws, environmental standards, and
tax laws. "What the Government hopes to achieve by giving so many
concessions is a mystery. Meanwhile, hundreds of farmers, fishermen and
artisans are being displaced for illusory gains," he added.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/10/24/stories/2006102401451900.htm