Special Economic Zone

Special Economic Zone or Real Estate Zone?

Nightmare for Farmers

The recent move of the Commerce Ministry with its noble idea of creating foreign territories (under SEZ Act, 2005) within India is meeting with a great resistance at least in Maharashtra, if not anywhere else as of now. The protest of Paddy farmers from Kokan and Potato farmers from Rajgurunagar in Pune District speaks the same language of strong discontentment with any discussion of giving away their only means of livelihood, the Land.

“Maru pan amhi amchi jameen denar naahi! Paise wagairah kahi nakot amaala, Lakh kay koti dile tari amhi eak inch pan jameen denar nahi”

- Farmers of Maharashtra

More than 140 SEZ’s have been planned in country. In Santa Cruz (Maharashtra), Cochin (Kerala), Kandla and Surat (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Falta (West Bengal) and Nodia (Uttar Pradesh), at Indore ( Madhya Pradesh ) Positra (Gujarat), Navi Mumbai and Kopata (Maharashtra), Nanguneri (Tamil Nadu), Kulpi and Salt Lake (West Bengal), Paradeep and Gopalpur (Orissa), Bhadohi, Kanpur, Moradabad and Greater Noida (U.P.), Vishakhapatnam and Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), Vallarpadam/Puthuvypeen (Kerala) Hassan ( Karnataka), Jaipur and Jodhpur ( Rajasthan) on the basis of proposals received from the State Governments.

FARMERS STRIFE AGAINST LAND ACQUISITION UNDER RELIANCE SEZ FOR GREATER MUMBAI

On June 22, a few Mumbai-based Marathi newspapers carried the news of the demonstrations of hundreds of farmers against the land acquisition by the state government for the Reliance Company for a 10,120 hectare Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The farmers in the obscure Pen tehsil in Raigad district Maharashtra took a strong protest rally of almost 4000 farmers against Reliance SEZ on 21^st, that curbed by police lathi charge on the rally which was a response of stone throwing by some miscreants and damaging the property. Later it was found that, that was not done by the protesting farmers.

“The Reliance Company managed to create disturbance in the peaceful meeting of hundereds of farmers and our process of presenting objections to the Land Acquisition notices to the officials. The company is nervous about the growing resistance by the farmers for usurping their productive land and therefore trying to use the police to crush the movement" told Arun Shivkar, of Pen Panchkroshi Sheti Bachao Samiti (Pen area Committee for save the farmland).

The villagers now know fully well they are pitted against the formidable adversary – the giant Reliance, which has just obtained 25,000 hectares land for its own SEZ in Haryana, already took the governments in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and even the so called the Left wing government of W. Bengal. It is spreading its wings in textiles, power, contract farming, medicinal herbs, sugar industries and retail stores. They realize that the Company has enormous sway over the political, bureaucratic establishment and the media. This company has been given the largest SEZ in the 45 villages in Pen-Panvel-Uran area, in the name of the activities like manufacturing, trading, services, processing, logistics, repackaging, warehousing etc.

"There is no question of increased compensation for the land – we just do not want to give our land to the Reliance," that was the spirit of the meeting held on June 24-25, hosted by the Samiti and the NCAS, at Bardawadi near Pen. The meeting, attended by various organizations in Konkan region along with the representatives of NAPM, People's Political Front (PPF), and Shoshit Jan Andolan resolved to intensify and widen the struggle against the SEZ, by involving the affected people in other parts of Maharashtra and India. A detailed campaign against the Reliance's money power and the SEZs as a whole was planned-

1. A week long Padyatra to show resistance to the proposed foreign autonomous territory in farmers land

2. A daylong hunger protest and rally with meeting with various officials

3. Lobbying with state and national groups and with political party representatives

The people's movements from various parts of the country under the aegis of the NAPM, in the recently held Bangalore convention, have decided to take up the issue of the SEZ and mobilize the nationwide resistance to the creation of the SEZ. The organizations made it clear that the issue at the stake was not only the lands and rights of the affected farmers and other villagers, but the larger canvas of the way the political economy of the nation is being usurped by the corporate interests with the connivance of the political and bureaucratic elite. They resolved to protect the natural resources of the communities – land, water, forest, sea-coast; oppose the violation of the laws and regulations and the sovereignty of the people.

This is one of the 27 approved SEZs in the state out of 53 proposed, both by the private parties (13) and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC, 11). There are other 17 SEZs that are to be given approval (11 private and 7 MIDC). These SEZs are part of the more than 140 SEZs that are earmarked in almost all the parts of the country. With this one stroke of SEZ Act, the corporate powers have cornered exemptions from almost every tax, while getting the services of water supply, electricity, usurping the natural resources, distorting the constitutional sovereignty of the people.

FARMERS PROTEST IN RAJGURUNAGAR AGAINST MIDC SUPPORTED BHARAT FORGE

In only Pune district more than seven SEZ has been approved out of 27 in Maharashtra. These are mainly private sectors zones and the developers are varied e.g. Syntel International, Serum Institute, Mahindra Realty, Bharat Forge, City Parks, Raheja Coroporation, Hiranandani and Xansa India, etc.

One of this is Bharat Forge limited, for which the land would be acquired from 16 villages like Gulani, Wafgaon, Wakalwadi, Warude, Gadakwadi, Chaudharwadi, Chinchbaigaon, Jaulake Budruk, Jarewadi, Kanesar, Pur, Gosasi, Nimgaon, Retwadi, Jaulake Khurd, Dhore Bhamburwadi and Pabal.

The 7,500 hectares agriculture and non-agriculture land has been identified by MIDC. On which most of the land is under cultivation by Maratha, other backward and Adivasi communities. Their major crops are potato, onion, sorghum, jowar, rice, flowers and pulses. Village youths are engaged into agriculture and allied industries by running their own businesses like poultry, milk collection, pig raring and Shahamrug farm. Nevertheless, people’s livelihood is dependent on farming activities dependent on monsoon rain and irrigation by well. Their demand for water, drinking and irrigation, from the Chas-Kaman Scheme, is pending for a decade unheard by the same government which has proposed land acquisition today for Bharat Forge. Electricity for irrigation is a far distant dream for people of Gulani, the largest village among all proposed for land acquisition.

There has been a drinking water scheme which is about 35 crore’s investment but due to the lack of maintenance it is not in use. Even though this area comes under the Bhima River basin and surrounded by small watersheds, Dhimbhe Dam, Kukadi and Chaskaman Irrigation scheme.

On this background to oppose SEZ project farmers and local people’s representatives have constituted a Khed Taluka Purva Vibhag MIDC Virodhi Kruti Samiti (Anti Land Acquisition Committee from East Khed-Wafgaon and Gulani Village) under the chairmanship of Mr. Rajusheth Jawalekar, Wafgaon. Many people have been involved in this committee like Kisanrao Garde, Sudamrao Karale, Dadasaheb Rode, Sitabai Ranpise, Bhalchandra Rode, Kaluram Pingale, Balasaheb Sutar, Ashok Jare, Santosh Karale etc. All these people are Sarpanch and member of Grampanchayat and Taluka Panchayat. Their larger aim is to stop the land acquisition and cancel the SEZ resolution, which is disturbing their socio-economic and cultural life.

Their previous experience of earlier projects has made them wise enough to oppose this SEZ project because ‘once one looses the land, it looses the bargaining power’, as this had happened incase of previous projects e.g. Chakan International Airport project. On 11^th July, 2006 more than four thousand people gathered to protest (Morcha) against Bharat Forge SEZ at Rajgurunagar-Khed Tehsil Office. They submitted a memorandum to tehsildar Vijaya Pangarkar demanding that MIDC-SEZ should be cancelled. Their major demands were

1. Water for drinking and irrigation, support to the agriculture-allied activities and support to small business.

2. Complete the work of drinking water scheme and Gulani percolation tank at the earliest.

3. Save the agriculture land from the MIDC and SEZ project.

The farmers have warned to government officers that they will fight against SEZ unless and until it gets stopped the survey and entire project, the Gram Sabha’s have passed resolutions to this effect. They would rather increase the agriculture production qualitative and quantitative for exports if government provides only waters to them.