SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES

“Where will we all go once we sell our land? Agriculture is our life.”

“What will we eat after selling our land to them?”

These are the helpless protest voices of farmers and others who are affected by the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Policy recently introduced by Government of India.

It appears Maharashtra State alone has over 70 approved SEZs.

We see every day news in the media that displacing poor people who live peacefully with their small holdings from their own land by paying huge amount of money.

Money can not bring everything in their life.

Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal  are the two areas approved for SEZs.

Protests from people lead to loss of human life in a miserable way beyond one’s imagination!

What are the peoples’ representatives doing?

They simply visit with full police protection these areas and return safely their homes and forget the whole thing.

The visits have not helped the villagers. However, the GOI have realized the importance of peoples’ voice and started rethinking about the SEZs.

There are very many examples to show the miserable conditions of displaced people in our country.

Once they lose their land they have to depend on the government officials for the resettlement.

They have to run from pillar to post to get their rightful dues.

It is a common experience for the displaced people in countries like India.

Facing the criticism on SEZ issue, particularly after the police firing at Nandigram in West Bengal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the policy of SEZ is irreversible.

He wanted to look into the inadequacies in compensation. 

SEZs are needed for the economic growth of our country.

But how to implement them without causing concerns to the common people is the most crucial point in the Prime Minister has to consider.

There are pressures from multi-national companies and rich industrialists.

At the same time the poor people of mother India.

How to find a compromise?

It’s not that easy!

Still if there is a will, there is a way!

I hope, soon the GOI will come out with a revised SEZ policy so that every one, above all India get prospered.

10:15 - Sat 7 Apr 2007 - post comment