LAND ACQUISITION/SEZ & DISPLACEMENT – 2009 (January to December 2009) Compiled By Human Rights Documentation∗ Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi – 110 003, (India) SEZs turning out to be 'Exploitation Zones': Medha Patkar (4) Kancheepuram, January 03, 2009: Terming Special Economic Zones coming up in different states as "exploitation zones", noted social activist and environmentalist Medha Patkar has said that a large number of people were being evicted from their lands in the name of economic development. Speaking to reporters at Oragadam near in Kancheepuram last night after visiting people whose lands were acquired for expansion of Chennai airport and setting up of SEZ on a 500 acre plot in the district, she said acquisition of the land by governments violated fundamental rights of people to live in their land. Patkar,who attended a meeting of 'SEZ Opposition Movement and the Movement to Restore Life resources to Agriculturists', said thousands of poor people had lost their land in the name of economic development and industrialisation in Orissa, Mumbai and Bangalore. However, in Nandigram in West Bengal it did not succeed due to the stiff resistance by the people, she said, adding that the Narmada Bachao Andholan was also a success due to the resistance from local people. The second stage of the Sardar Sarovar project was not implemented only because of public opposition, she said. She alleged that companies were "grabbing" lands from the poor with support of governments. The lands given to the poor under various social welfare schemes was being taken away. "Reversing the programmes of Gandhiji and Vinoba Bhave, the state was rendering people landless and resourceless,"she saidShe asked the people 'never to believe' rehabilitation and compensation packages when lands were acquired, as these were never implemented. "Cash can never compensate the loss of land', she said, adding that panchayat leaders must refuse to let the privileges and independence of their people to be taken away. (Hindustan Times 3/1/09) Orissa offers cash against jobs to displaced families (4) Bhubaneswar (PTI): With economic meltdown affecting industries in Orissa, the State government has asked displaced families of steel hub Kalinga Nagar to either wait for some time or take financial assistance instead of jobs, official sources said. The government's decision in this regard was conveyed to displaced families at a meeting on rehabilitation chaired by Finance Minister P C Ghadei here. According to the provision of government's rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy, each displaced family was entitled to get a job in the unit for which they sacrificed their land. As there is delay in providing jobs to persons belonging to displaced families in view of the financial recession, they can receive financial assistance," Ghadei told a delegation of displaced families of Kalinganagar. However both the industries and the government had no problem if the displaced families wait till the financial crisis was over, he said. The families which had not till now received compensation for sacrificing land and house for industrial purposes could collect their money from the district administration, the minister said. The meeting also resolved to shift people of at least two villages like Sarangapur and Khurunti in Kalinganagar area to other places as they had been severely affected by emission of ash and smoke from different industries in the region. Ghadei said the land for shifting the people of the two villages had been selected by the district administration. The construction of houses and other infrastructure would begin after the villagers give their consent. (The Hindu 8/1/09) PRP favours SEZs on non-farm lands (4) Kakinada: The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) was in favour of developing on non-agricultural lands and if it comes to power, it would return farm lands already acquired for SEZs to their rightful owners. PRP would ∗

This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose reference marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.

have its own norms for SEZs which have become means to do real estate business, said PRP manifesto committee convener K.S.R. Murthy. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Murthy said his party would not acquire farm lands for SEZs even if it implied that industries have to set up their units on barren lands, where necessary infrastructure would be created instead of destroying fertile lands in the name of industrial development. Mr. Murthy said PRP would develop government hospitals at par with private corporate hospitals by providing the required facilities irrespective of the financial burden entailed by them. Development of primary health centres (PHCs) was also on top of the party’s agenda. The payscales of government doctors would be increased and doctors who have to put up mandatory service in the rural areas would be supported in all forms. In such a situation, people can fulfil their health care needs at the government hospitals and PHCs. Mr. Murthy further said that the public distribution system would be streamlined and prices would be controlled through market intervention measures. The proposal to supply some essential commodities at Rs.100 was being worked out. As party president Chiranjeevi has announced, education would be provided free of cost to all poor students, including those of the economically backward classes, from KG to PG. Houses would be built for the poor for less than Rs. 1,00,000, scholarships distributed to the eligible and other measures were being planned to achieve social justice. (Hindu 9/1/09) Satyam, Maytas SEZs to come under scanner (4) New Delhi: In the wake of the Satyam scam, 6 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) – three each belonging to Satyam and Maytas could come under scanner. Official sources said Andhra Pradesh government is mulling asking the Centre to review all the documents regarding these six SEZs and has taken it up with the Centre. However, commerce ministry officials told FE they have not yet got any information in this regard. All the six SEZs are located in Andhra Pradesh and are IT/IteS SEZs. They have all been notified. The developers of these SEZs are Satyam Computer Services Ltd in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam as well as Maytas Enterprises SEZ Pvt Ltd, Maytas Ventures SEZ Pvt Ltd and Maytas Hill County SEZ Pvt Ltd, all in Ranga Reddy district. (see chart) Commerce ministry officials said since these SEZs house several buildings, other structures, and several industrial units as well as 5,000 to 10,000 employees working in them, there was no question of denotifying it even if Andhra Pradesh government pushes for it. However, if Satyam or Maytas goes into liquidation, or if it is felt that the developers are unable to perform their duties, the government can look at appointing an administrator, who could be the Development Commissioner of the SEZ and then look for a new developer to be in charge of the SEZs, sources said. If no new developer comes forward to buy the SEZs, technically the government can even take over the affairs of these SEZs, they said, adding, however, that it is too early to take a call. Since December 2007, the Centre is battling the Goa government, which has been pressing for denotification of three SEZs in that state. The state government has cited representations and protests that said the zones would adversely affect tourism and environment. There was also criticism that SEZs will take away scarce land in the state. The Centre has told the Goa government that it was ready to scrap three notified special economic zones (SEZ) in Goa if the state government reaches an amicable settlement with the developers of the zones by offering them compensation for the damages. The Centre has indicated that the state would have to compensate the developers for the investments made alongwith the interest amount to avoid litigation and other complications. Earlier, the Centre had stated that it was not possible to denotify the three notified SEZs in the state, as there is no such... (Financial Express 9/1/09) Politics, investor concerns delay SEZ vote result(4) Mumbai, January 18, 2009: Thousands of farmers in 22 villages of Raigad district on September 21 participated in a referendum the government held to find out if they were ready to give up land for a special economic zone (SEZ). The villagers may not officially get to know the result for some time yet. Mantralaya sources, who requested anonymity for protocol reasons, said political compulsions and investor-related concerns had prevented the state from making public the result of the first such referendum in the country. Non-governmental organisations have already declared that over 95 per cent of the farmers were opposed to the Reliance-promoted SEZ. So far, the promoter has acquired about 1,500 hectares of land for Rs 600 crore. The villages want their farms to be out of the Reliance SEZ project because their notified land, which is 3,000 hectares of a total 10,000 hectares, falls under the command area of the nearby Hetavane dam. Citing the Centre’s 2007 SEZ policy that bars acquisition of irrigated land for SEZs, the villages had demanded a referendum. The state held the poll and promised to declare the result in a month. But it kept delaying the announcement, citing one reason or the other.

Bureaucrats and politicians who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was a strategy behind the delay. A senior revenue department official said the in-principle consent the Centre’s approval boards had awarded to the Reliance SEZ would expire in June and the notice period given to farmers under the Land Acquisition Act would lapse next month. “The expiry of notice period and the approval would automatically take care of farmers’ concerns ahead of the general elections,” the official said. “The SEZ promoter will have to either scrap the entire project or start the process all over again.” At the same time, the government does not want to scare away investors. “The government fears adverse reaction from prospective investors in the time of recession because the referendum has already set a precedent,” a senior Congress leader said. “Affected farmers may demand a similar exercise in every SEZ.” (Hindustan Times 18/1/09) Satyam not to abandon SEZ plans (4) New Delhi, PTI: Satyam Computer Services has no intention to abandon its Rs 370-crore Special Economic Zone projects but the troubled IT firm facing a severe cash crunch will go ahead with the plans only “if required.” Work is in progress in four SEZs in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Besides, the company has acquired 26 acres in Gandhinagar and was about to submit its proposal for clearance to the Gujarat government before its Mr Raju made the startling revelation. Both Chennai and Nagpur SEZ projects would need investment of Rs 100 crore each. At the Chennai’s Kancheepuram project, work on the first phase has begun while the pre- construction work is in progress at the Nagpur site, the Satyam Computers spokesperson said. (Deccan Herald 19/1/09) Polavaram: Soz assurance to YSR (4) NEW DELHI: Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz gave an assurance to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy that his Ministry would extend ‘full help and cooperation’ for the clearance of the Polavaram multi-purpose project on the Godavari. Opposition States of Orissa and Chattisgarh are objecting to the project on the ground that it involves huge submergence in their region. Mr. Soz gave the assurance to Dr. Reddy when he called on him on Monday ahead of the meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee — that gives approvals for water projects—on Tuesday. Dr. Reddy informed Mr. Soz that the State had received approvals from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the project. According to sources, the Andhra Pradesh government had given an assurance that it would set aside Rs. 600 crore for creating embankments before construction of the project to protect areas in Orissa and Chattisgarh from submergence. The Central Water Commission has also advised the State to modify the operation schedule of the dam before the actual construction of the project in consultation with the Orissa and Chattisgarh. Polavaram is a multi-purpose project that envisages irrigation to 7.21 lakh acres in the upward areas of West Godavari, Krishna, East Godavari and Vishakhampatnam districts. It will also provide industrial and drinking water to these districts. An inter-State agreement signed among the three States (including erstwhile Madhya Pradesh) in 1980 intended to limit the upstream submergence in the territories of Orissa and Chattisgarh. Neither Orissa nor Chatttisgarh are beneficiaries in the project that is part of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal Award. The Andhra Pradesh government has approached the Supreme Court for a speedy approval to the project. Union Water Resources Secretary heads the TAC with representation from the Central Water Commission, Ministries of Environment, Tribal Affairs, Finance and the Planning Commission. If the TAC approves the Rs. 14,000 crore project, it would be referred to the Planning Commission for investment clearance. The Chief Minister also sought the status of a national project for Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita Chevella Sujala Sravanti Project and the Polavaram Project under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP). The Pranahita Chevella Sujala Sravanti Project envisages irrigation of 16.4 lakh acres in drought prone areas including the Telangana region. The project cost is estimated at Rs. 38,500 crore. The State wants these projects to be included under AIBP under Centre-State 90:10 funding pattern respectively, pending approval for their inclusion as national projects. The State government has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on this. Prof. Soz said that the CWC needed clarifications on certain technical and inter-state issues on these projects. (The Hindu 20/1/09) ‘SEZs fail to attract foreign capital’ (4) NEW DELHI: Jan. 20: The first detailed study on the functioning of SEZs using RTIs has highlighted their failure to attract large amounts of foreign capital. The Action Aid India-sponsored study into the 19

functional SEZs, from the 366 which have received formal approval, found that FDI investment was Rs 525.70 crores while private investment was Rs 4,649.94 crores. Central and state government investments till 2007 were Rs 1,052.25 crores. The study undertaken by Delhi-based Hazards Centre found that the older units attracted higher investment by private and foreign investors. The seven older SEZs developed and operated by the centre had four times more manufacturing units than those kickstarted by state governments. Some of the SEZs whose performance was closely monitored during 2007-8 were Kandla (Gujarat), Falta (West Bengal), Vishakhapatnam (AP), Jaipur and Manesar in Haryana. It was found that four of these SEZs were not manufacturing goods they had been originally set up for. Kandla was developed as a textile and garment hub but had switched over to manufacturing chemicals and fertilisers. Falta, planned to manufacture plastic and rubber goods but was currently exporting textiles and garments. Visakhapatnam, started off making fine chemicals and engineering but later switched to high value gems and jewellery. Jaipur alone continued to work in gems and jewellery. In Kandla, from the original 362 units that were functioning, more than half had shut down, including the high-profile Mafatlal and Milton units. Similarly, while the Kandla SEZ showed 16,581 persons were employed, a field visit to the DC’s office showed the actual figure was 14,299. Again, the Falta SEZ had 127 functional units although more than 200 units had been approved of originally. Visakhapatnam has generated direct employment for only 4,200 employees where the AP government had promised to 60 persons per acre which would have meant creating 21,600 jobs. The Sitapure Industrial Area near Jaipur was developed on 1,646 acres of land. Villagers from eight villages were evicted to create this SEZ with some complaining they were given as little as Re 1 per bigha for land which was acquired by RIUICO in 1992. Only 2 per cent of the 4,200 workers employed in this SEZ belonged to these affected villages since most of the units continued to employ the same set of workers they had employed originally. (Asian Age 21/1/09) Unitech suspends plans for Sonepat SEZ (4) Discuss Chandigarh: Real estate major Unitech has temporarily shelved its ambitious Rs 22,000-crore special economic zone (SEZ) project in Haryana, blaming the state authorities for “not assisting” it in land acquisition. However, the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corp (HSIIDC) has accused the company of making “excuses” and said it has not shown “any serious intent”in buying the land for this project since the formation of the joint venture two years ago. “Yes, we have put on hold our SEZ project at Sonepat for the time being not because of economic recession but due to unclear policies of the state government and not helping us in acquiring land,” said an official spokesman of Unitech. He said HSIIDC had agreed to help in acquiring land for SEZ project but did not initiate in this regard. “They had told us to help in this project by way of buying land for us but they did not do so.” (Financial Express 22/1/09) Jajpur police arrest 2 Kalinga Nagar movement leaders (4) BHUBANESWAR: Jajpur police on Saturday arrested two prominent leaders who were spearheading anti-industrialisation movement in Kalinga Nagar, upcoming steel-manufacturing hub of the State. Chakradhar Haiburu (Junior) and Paresh Mohanta were arrested from Dumduma area of Bhubaneswar on Saturday as special squad of Jajpur police moved swiftly and entered house of one Gopinath Mishra here. When asked Jajpur Superintendent of Police D. S. Kute said they were involved in the murder of Rajesh Tanti, a trade union leader, in Sukinda Chromite zone in July 2008. The two accused were also being linked with left wing extremist groups CPI (ML) Janashakti, which was active in some central Orissa region districts. “Preliminary investigation reveals they were closely working in association with Ana Reddy, who was leader of CPI (ML) Janashakti,” Jajpur SP said over phone. They were charged under 387 and 302 of IPC. The Police said they would be forwarding the two accused to court in Saturday evening. Although there were initial reports that special squad had arrested three persons, Mr. Kute dismissed the reports. Jajpur district administration had earlier slapped Rs. 1,00,000 penalty on Chakradhar Haiburu (Junior), former secretary of Bisthapan Birodhi Janamanch (BBJ), for staging a road blockade that led to death of a patient in August 2008. The mother of all road blockades had started just after killing of 13 tribals in police firing, who were opposing construction of a boundary wall of a proposed steel mill in Kalinga Nagar area on January 2, 2006. They could execute it as Chakradhar Haiburu was then absconding. (The Hindu 25/1/09) Villagers protest land takeover (4)

CHENNAI: Even as the country was celebrating Republic Day, it was a black day for 6,000 villagers of Thervoy Kandigai, Thiruvallur district, who were protesting the takeover of a grazing land by SIPCOT for a Special Economic Zone. The grazing land of nearly 1,500 acres serves as a water catchment area and is rich in medicinal herbs, firewood, fruits and wild animals. Around 5,000 acres of land spread across 12 villages depends on the rainwater trapped in this land for farming. The villagers don’t want it used for industrial purposes. Ever since it was announced in 2006 that SIPCOT would be developing an SEZ there, they have been protesting. After four Gram Sabha resolutions, petitions to the district collector, DRO and an appeal by the SC/ST commission didn’t stop the SIPCOT project, the villagers decided to raise the banner of protest. Apart from wearing black badges and raising back flags at their houses, the Thervoy villagers also boycotted the Gram Sabha meeting on Sunday. “There is no Republic or Independence Day for us while our land is being destroyed. If the government doesn’t stop the SIPCOT project, we will give up our ration and voter ID cards and stop using all government benefits. We’ll wear a black badge as a mark of protest until the land is given back to us,” says Nagaraj, member of the Thervoy Struggle Group. Meanwhile, the clearance work is on. Last month, the villagers chased away bulldozers that came to clear the land. From January 22, policemen have been stationed at Thervoy to ensure no one disturbs the clearance work. But it hasn’t dampened the villagers’ spirit. With the help of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi they plan to file a public interest litigation in a court seeking an end the SIPCOT project. (New iNdian Express 28/1/09) Row over IT Special Economic Zone ends (4) VISAKHAPATNAM: The row over notification of an IT SEZ at Rushikonda to develop it into another Cyberabad has come to an end with the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and promoters of software units sorting out their differences over conversion of sale deed into lease and extension of benefits to all under SEZ rules. The decision is likely to give a boost to the IT and ITES business from the zone as the investors, who had threatened to approach the court to press for de-notification of SEZ, have now expedited the work on construction. Even as two units – Kenexa Technologies and Symbiosys Technologies – launched their operations almost a year ago, other units’ construction is on at a brisk pace. The face-off between APIIC and the promoters took a bitter shape during the year-end with a notice served on the latter for stoppage of power supply under the alibi that the constructions were made in violation of SEZ rules for not having the letter of permission from the competent agency. However, after protracted talks, the promoters, barring one or two, have agreed to convert the sale deed into long-term lease. The authorities have promised to look into their plea for extending duty benefits to them even as their units had shifted from outside the zone. As per SEZ rules, only Greenfield units are entitled to avail themselves of the concessions. “We are extremely happy with the progress and expect that all the units to start their operations very soon despite slowdown due to worldwide recession,” APIIC Chief Engineer and in-charge Executive Director K.V.V. Sathi Reddy told The Hindu. While Kenexa is involved in recruitment process resource, Symbiosys is into software development and testing. Kenexa has been given separate SEZ status after getting 25 acres on hill No. 3. Symbiosys has invested Rs.15 crores on its building and fulfilled the norm of employing 100 employees per acre of allotted land. The authorities are keen that others should also follow suit as part of IT policy. Fifteen units including Wipro Infotech have been given sites on Hill No. 3 and firms like Soft Pro System, Navayoga Infotech, Sankheya Technologies, Mahathi Software, CAN Infotech, Nu Net will have their units on Hill No. 2. The IT SEZ area extends on an area of 100 acres overlooking the sea. Hill No. 1 has Miracle Software under construction on an area of five acres and Rama Naidu Film City. The film city is in operation over a part of 40 acres allotted for the purpose. (The Hindu 28/1/09) Arrest warrants issued against Medha Patkar (4) Gandhinagar: A warrant for the arrest of Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar has been issued after she failed to honour summons by the Metropolitan Court in Ahmedabad. The court has directed the police to arrest and produce her before him on February 27. Metropolitan Magistrate RG Chaudhary issued the warrant on Tuesday against Patkar in a defamation case filed by VK Saxena, the president of the National Council for Civil Liberties. The court issued bailable warrants after Patkar and her advocate failed to appear even after being given four opportunities by the court. Earlier, summons were issued on August 14 last year which were served on her a week later at Badwani in MP. Her lawyer had appeared in court on September 26 and sought time. Thereafter, the court gave four opportunities when neither Patkar nor her lawyer appeared,the Court directed the police inspector, Badwani to “arrest

the accused and produce before him on 27/02/09”. The sequence of events was kickstarted in a TV news channel interview wherein the NBA leader alleged that the NCCL head's opposition was guided by the “civil contracts flowing to him from the the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam” and that she was ready to prove it anytime. The interview was telecast on April 20, 2006 and was immediately denied in the same programme. Saxena also challenged her to provide evidence to back her allegations. Subsequently, Saxena sent a legal notice to Medha Patkar on April 29, 2006 and called upon her to prove her allegations. Despite service of the legal notice she failed to provide any evidence. Saxena, thereafter, filed a defamation case against Patkar on June 29, 2006 under Section 499 & 500 of IPC in the Ahmedabad metropolitan magistrate's court. The court after watching the footage of the TV programme, directed the Navrangpura Police in Ahmedabad to investigate the case. The SSNL chairman, in a letter dated September 30, 2006 to Navrangpura police station confirmed that “VK Saxena neither in his personal capacity nor as president of National Council for Civil Liberties ever applied to the Nigam for the award of any civil contract or for any supply contract in the past nor the Nigam has ever given civil or any other contract to him or to his NGO.” Navrangpura police inspector DA Desai also submitted in his report to the court that even after being giving seven opportunities, the NBA leader failed to come and record her statement. The cop even professed his readiness to got to Badwani in MP to record her statement but in vain. The court found prima facie case against Patkar and passed detailed order for summoning her on August 14 last year.(Pioneer 29/1/09)

Threat to livelihood of cattle, goat owners (4) VISAKHAPATNAM: A Damocle’s sword is hanging over hundreds of cattle, buffalo and goat owners with ‘Operation Concrete Jungle’ getting a foothold at in-demand Madhurawada and Kapuluppada villages. Most of them belonging to Yadavas are facing livelihood threat with dwindling number of their animals due to loss of fodder, cutting of hills at Rushikonda for an IT Special Economic Zone and Knowledge Park on area of 1650 acres at Kapuluppada. Though the pace of constructions has slowed down, albeit for the time being due to market meltdown, it is a known fact that the concrete jungle culture is irreversible. With no literacy, most of the animal owners thrive on income from milk and selling the goats to abattoirs. “We used to live comfortably with our income from our herds and by taking up labour work. Now with bulldozers and heavy earth movers making inroads into our area, we are having an uncertain time,” says Ramana Yadav, who owns about 50 goats. He hails from Chepaluppada and takes his herd daily to a hillock allotted for IT SEZ at Rushikonda for grazing. S.B. Rao, an activist from Forum for Sustainable Development, says all the animals are environment-friendly and do not need much for their upkeep. For instance, he points out goats nibble and clear thick undergrowth of combustible weeds and shrubs as well as low tree branches. The affected communities from Thimmapuram, Golalathimmapuram, Madhurawada, Kapuluppada, Chepaluppada and Mangamaripeta – where a lot of IT and housing ventures are coming up – want that the authorities should take steps to stop their displacement and destruction to hills endangering their livelihood. As per accepted norms, 30 per cent of land use pattern should be left for agriculture and farm-related practices. But this is becoming a casualty with real estate considerations becoming top priority. As a result, spotting a fox or wild boar on the outskirts has become rare. Moreover, the disturbance being caused to the habitat is forcing panthers to stray into residential areas, admits P.V. Padmanabham, a senior forest official. (The Hindu 3/2/09) New SEZ rules to ‘house’ more facilities for workers (4) New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday amended rules for special economic zones asking developers to voluntarily build housing facilities for workers and staff within the tax-free enclaves. The developers can avail of duty concessions for bringing materials for constructing these facilities into the SEZ. “The developer shall strive to provide adequate housing facilities not only for the management and office staff but also for the workers of the special economic zones,” the notification said, showing that the provision is not a mandatory one. This means all the developers will have to redraw their plans to include residences for workers in the non-processing area, housing all the other social amenities like hospitals, schools and recreation facilities as well. However, developers are still studying the notification to find out the impact of the condition. “At present, half of the total area of an SEZ should be earmarked for processing area where all the industrial units have to be located and only the other half can be allotted for non-processing area. If the government wants us to build houses for all workers within the SEZ, they will have to relax the condition of 50% processing area and increase the area housing social amenities and housing facilities,”

a developer said on condition of anonymity. But L B Singhal, director general, Export Promotion Council for SEZs and EOUs, said, “Developers building housing facilities for their workers will in fact benefit more as they will be able to market their SEZs better. If there are housing facilities within the SEZs, they will not have to commute much and this will in turn increase their productivity,” He said some developers, like Sri City in Andhra Pradesh, are already providing housing facilities within their respective SEZs. Orient Craft also intend to build housing facilities for about 10,000 workers in their textile SEZ in Gurgaon after finding that several workers take over two hours to just to come to the working site, Singhal said. “If you provide housing facilities in the SEZ, workers will be able to cycle down to the units in just 5-10 minutes,” he added. (Financial Express 4/2/09) Penganga project threatens farmers (4) YAVATMAL: The proposed Lower Penganga irrigation project threatens Scheduled Caste farmers, many of whom have recently acquired land. Gautam Bhalerao from Bondgawhan village in Mahur taluka in Maharashtra says he owns 25 to 30 acres of land which he cultivates. “Though I am a post-graduate in English, I prefer farming. Every village has a small SC community and, in some cases, the government has given them land in lieu of their work as kotwals. After the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act of 2006, some Adivasis have also got land titles,” he points out. Farmers in Datodi village say monetary compensation for their land will not last. Kusum Jagtap says: “What will we do with money? How long does it last anyway? We own ten acres and my family of 12 people live on the proceeds. People are going to live off the dam while we die,” she remarks. Vidarbha as a whole has 11.5 per cent created irrigation potential but the actual figure is much lower. “Farmers say barrages are more viable with no displacement. “The displaced people from Bembla project in Bhabhulgaon taluka are settled on the road. They are now begging near the bus stand,” says Tai Madhavrao Jagtap. “They have no work, their lands have been submerged and we don’t want to end up the same way,” she says. Pushpa Mujmule owns five acres in Datodi and her family of seven is dependent on it. “We have seen dams before — landowners are reduced to beggars. Men start drinking with the money and women go into prostitution. That’s why we are opposed to this dam,” she explains. Nineteen-year-old Sheetal hails from a landless family. Now her husband is the owner of five acres near the river. “This year we will plant green gram,” she says. People like Sheetal who are new owners of land, will be displaced. It is not only farmers but also members of the Bhoi fishing community who stand to lose their livelihood. Namdeo Borkar says his community thrives by fishing in the river by using the traditional nets. In Datodi alone, there are 30 such families. In the whole area, there are an estimated 25,000 members of the community. “We don’t have big boats, and so we can’t even bid for the contract fishing in the reservoir. We don’t own land so we won’t get any compensation,” he says. Keshav Bhagat from Gokul village got a land title in 1982 to the forest land he was cultivating. Now, with the dam, he will be displaced. Of the 95 villages affected, gram panchayats in 85 villages passed resolutions against the project many years ago. Dr. B.V. Dakhore and Shubha Dakhore of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) say only one meeting was held with the local people, that too after the then Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, ordered it. A public hearing was held in May 2006 and even though the people totally opposed the project, the government officials present gave a positive report. This has been challenged in court. Says Prahlad Patil Jagtap of the Committee against the Lower Penganga Project: “We are fighting on the legal and political front apart from protests. We have called this area a red zone. No government official can enter here.” He points out the many irregularities that the government has resorted to for the project. In 2006, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court ticked off the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), which is implementing the project, for engaging a consultancy firm for obtaining clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. A serious note was taken by the Assistant Inspector-General of Forests and the court said it was surprising that the State was required to float tenders for retaining such consultants. The court cautioned against such mistakes in the future. Even though the VIDC was advised against publishing the tenders, it went ahead…….. (The Hindu 5/2/09) Activists urge State to scrap Special Economic Zones policy (4) CHENNAI: A forum comprising civil society leaders and activists on Thursday released a report demanding the scrapping of the State Government’s SEZ policy which had caused mass displacements of people and lasting ecological damage. Addressing a press conference, representatives of the Sirapu Porulaathara Mandalam Ethirpu Iyakkam (Movement Against SEZs) said they had come across shocking instances of largescale “violation of due process, lack of transparency and forced acquisition of farmlands

and homesteads” during the public hearings conducted in seven districts. The panel compiled its report after hearing out affected villagers in Oragadam-Sriperumbudur (Kancheepuram), Cheyyar (Tiruvannamalai), Ranipet and Panapakkam (Vellore), Nanguneri (Tirunelveli), Ennore (Tiruvallur) and Hosur (Krishnagiri). Louis Menezes, former bureaucrat, said it was deplorable how the Government was taking away assigned land from marginalised Dalits in Oragadam to facilitate an SEZ. The public hearings have also exposed as false the Government’s claim of “no dissent” among the people whose lands had been acquired, or that no fertile agricultural lands were being acquired for SEZs. This contravened the stated industrial policy 2007 of the Government, said Shanmugam Velayutham, professor, Social Work Department, Loyola College. With 122 notified and proposed SEZs, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of these exclusive zones in the country after Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, but it has come at a heavy social and humanitarian cost, the leaders said. “The Government claims of generation of jobs (from SEZs), but it does not mention anything about the loss of livelihoods,” said Gabriele Dietrich, national convenor of National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements. “The impact of SEZs has been more devastating in scale than the tsunami,” said activist Neelavalli. Layers of top soil had been ravaged beyond repair, people rendered homeless and livelihoods lost, she said. Women were also completely left out of compensation packages announced by the Government. When men were put in charge of the money, only a negligible amount reached home, she pointed out. (The Hindu 6/2/09) Land for SEZs could be 'misused' by real estate agents: Panel (4) Chennai, February 06, 2009: A group of former IAS officers and academicians on Thursday expressed fears that the large tracts of land being acquired by the Tamil Nadu government for setting up various Special Economic Zones (SEZ) could be "misused" by real estate agents and result in loss of farmers' livelihood. Releasing a report of public hearings conducted in various SEZ areas in the state, a member of the group, Professor Shanmugam Velayutham of the Chennai-based Loyola College, said land for the purpose of SEZ was "being acquired from farmers and handed over to big business houses, at the "expense" of the former's livelihood." "The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO)and State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCO) acquire land from farmers and hand them over to big business houses for the purpose of SEZ," he said.There was a danger of some real estate mafia exploiting the situation to secure some land for their business. He said acquisition of land was being done against the will and wish of people as they were not consulted before the process.'Unlike in states such as Goa, Tamil Nadu government is not holding consultations at the local level such as the Gram Sabha.. But it has been claiming that there has been no dissent from people,' he said, citing the report. (Hindustan Times 6/2/09) Tata Motors may compensate vendors for Nano relocation (4) Kolkata (PTI): Tata Motors Limited, which relocated its Nano project from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat, is looking into the possibility of compensating the vendors who had been adversely affected by the move. "Tata Motors is a company of extremely high integrity and will help the vendors as far as possible," Managing Director of Tata Ryerson Sandipan Chakrabarti told PTI. Tata Ryerson was one of the major vendors for the Nano plant besides others like Caparo Engineering and Bosch Chassis Systems. Sources familiar with the development said that the vendors had come to Singur at the behest of the Tatas. Now with the relocation, they would naturally feel aggrieved, they said. "In this current market condition, it would be difficult for the vendors to absorb the sunk cost," a source said. Under such circumstances, Tata Motors may show a positive gesture towards the affected vendors, sources said. A total of 60-odd vendors were to set up their units at Singur for supplying components for Nano. Sources said that the total investment already made by the vendors at Singur was around Rs 200 crore. Asked to comment on the issue, a Tata Motors spokesman said "vendors are our partners". The Singur plan entailed that vendors were required to set up their units near the mother plant in an area of 300 acres. Sources said the status of the land allocated to the vendors post-relocation of the project was not clear. According to sources, it would be a complicated task as there were legal and contractual issues involved. Tata Motors had to relocate the Nano plant following a raging political row, which erupted following questions raised by the opposition Trinamool Congress on land acquisition. The state government had acquired nearly 1000 acres for the Nano plant at Singur through the state-owned West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC). (The Hindu 12/2/09) Posco: concern over ‘violation’ of human rights (4)

BHUBANESWAR: Various central trade unions raised concerns over alleged violation of human rights in Dhinkia and Gadakujanga area of Jagatsinghpur district where South Korean steel major Posco proposed to set up mega steel plant . Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, a five-member delegation led by All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary Souribandhu Kar said police were indiscriminately resorting to arrest of people who dared to step out of the area. A strong public movement has grown against the proposed project for which police administration is taking coercive action to suppress dissenting voices, charged delegation members. Movement of villagers who eked out their livelihood by selling betel leaves in urban markets had been restricted for which they were going through financial crisis, they said. Pointing out that condition of farmers was more distressing Mr. Kar said many cultivators could not procure seeds from market as they were afraid of being arrested on the way. He alleged students were also suffering from fear psychosis. Sridhar Mishra from Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said villagers were deliberately not given access to government welfare schemes such as old-age pension, Indra Awas Yojna houses, National Rural Employment Guarantee Programmes and widow pension.(The Hindu 14/2/09) Protest to highlight plight of displaced (4) NEW DELHI: Demanding that as per the Common Minimum Programme the right to housing be given legal status, a group of Delhi slum dwellers under the Campaign for Right to Life with Dignity will organise a protest demonstration from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar on February 20. The campaign is an initiative of the Delhi Shramik Sangathan and several other organisations, trade unions and individuals. “The slum demolition drive has started again. Before the elections, the Government had announced the Rajeev Ratan Awas Yojna for the urban poor and gave an assurance that no slum will be demolished. But after the formation of the Government in Delhi, they have forgotten their promise as usual,” said Ramendra Kumar, convenor of the Campaign for Right to Life with Dignity. On January 10, the Viklang Camp near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was demolished And on February 5, the New Sanjay Camp at Phase-II Okhla was , he said. (The Hindu 16/2/09) Ecologically fragile land Act to be amended (4) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government would amend the Kerala Forests (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Act in a bid to solve the problems being faced by small and marginal farmers, Forests Minister Benoy Viswom has said. Replying to questions in the Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. Viswom said the State government would fix a ceiling for the land holdings of small and marginal farmers and exempt them from the Act. A special committee would be set up to look into the complaints about the proposed amendments. The government had so far taken over 32,641.24 acres of land as per the provisions of the Act. The Centre had provided Rs.40 lakh for the conservation of ‘kavus’ (sacred groves). A project would be drawn up in consultation with ecologists and temple administrations to protect the groves, he said. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, replying to questions, said the second phase expansion of Infopark would be completed by 2013 and it was expected to generate 50,000 jobs. The IT parks at Cherthala, Ambalapuzha and Koratty were expected to create 32,000 job opportunities. The government had completed all formalities for the Smart City project, he said. A portion of land earmarked for the project had got Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status. The lease agreement for the project had expired. Steps were in place to ink a new agreement, he added. The IT sector in the State was yet to feel the heat of the economic slump. The government would soon appoint an IT advisor, Mr. Achuthanandan said. The Chief Minister said a feasibility study would be conducted at a cost of Rs.3.43 lakh for setting up an airport in Idukki. Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran said Maveli Stores would be opened in panchayats which can provide the requisite space. (The Hindu 18/2/09) Campaign against SEZs, corridor (4) VISAKHAPATNAM: A campaign is being launched to enlighten fishermen on the impact of the proposed coastal corridor from Visakhapatnam to Kakinada and the Special Economic Zones on their livelihood. Announcing this at a media conference here on Thursday, coordinator of Praja Udyama Aikya Vedika Nalla Suresh said that the campaign would cover various coastal villages in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts from Friday to February 26. He said that the successive Governments were depriving fishermen of their rights in the name of development. He said that SEZ s would be separate entities unto themselves where no laws were applicable. Setting up of ship breaking units would lead to loss of precious fish and prawn wealth. The demands of the Vedika include: abolition

of the 2005 SEZ Act, withdrawal of the 2008 CMZ and revival of the 1991 CRZ notification, provision of rights to traditional fishermen on natural water resources, abolition of G.O. no. 373 and other G.O.’ s that were meant for promoting the Coastal Corridor and displacement of poor, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the name of development. Matsyakarula Aikya Vedika leader Ganta Papa Rao, who was present at the press conference, said that ‘Ganga putrula garjana’ would be held against displacement of the fishermen community in Hyderabad on February 27. Earlier, Mr. Suresh released a poster brought out against SEZs, corridor. (The Hindu 20/2/09) Centre clears ten SEZs, three petrochem hubs (4) New Delhi: The UPA government on Monday cleared a slew of proposals to boost big-ticket investments, even as it sought to play down concerns about the economy and held out the promise of more sops for embattled exporters. The board of approvals for special economic zones (SEZs), the UPA’s flagship investment idea, cleared ten more zones, including the country’s largest zone to date, while the Cabinet paved the way for three massive petrochemical hubs, an outcome of another pet policy formulated in May 2007. RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao has, meanwhile, said he would “take appropriate policy action” (read: rate cuts), at a meeting with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. “The Bank is constantly monitoring the situation,” an RBI statement said. Besides the new SEZs, the rate cuts should help spur investments in the three petroleum, chemical & petrochemical investment regions (PCPIRs) in West Bengal’s Haldia, AP’s Visakhapatnam and Gujarat’s Dahej that the Cabinet cleared on Monday. These regions will be set up through the PPP route. The government’s PCPIR policy envisages faster statutory and environmental clearances, quick approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, with the Central and state governments ensuring better road, rail, port and airport connectivity. The region would be a combination of production units, public utilities, logistics, environmental protection mechanisms, residential areas and administrative services. A PCPIR could also include one or more SEZs, industrial parks, free trade & warehousing zones and export-oriented units. Among the SEZs approved on Monday was an application to merge three notified SEZs of the Adani group to create a single 6,214-hectare SEZ. The company has two port SEZs of 4,846 hectare and 1,074.17 hectare, along with a 293.88 hectare power SEZ. The total investment proposed is Rs 1 lakh crore and the zone is expected to employ 5 lakh people in the next ten years. This is the first time after an empowered group of ministers fixed a 5,000-hectare cap on SEZ projects that the Centre has allowed the cap to be breached. The board of approvals nod came as the notified areas of all three SEZs are contiguous and treating them as one SEZ would help prevent duplication of administrative requirements, do away with separate boundaries for each SEZ and also ensure that the developers could build seamless infrastructure connecting all three….. (Financial Express 24/2/09) Cabinet to take up changes in land acquisition policy today (4) New Delhi: After getting go ahead from GoM on Tuesday, the Cabinet would consider two significant policy changes on land acquisition for industrial use and rehabilitation of displaced people due to industrial project on Thursday. Sources told FE that amendment to the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and a introduction of the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy (NRRP), 2007, would be taken up by Cabinet, following which both the bills are likely to introduced in both houses of Parliament on Thursday. With Thursday being the last day of Parliament session for the UPA government, it wants to rush through the amendment instead of waiting for the next government. Agriculture minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has been pushing for including the two important items in Parliament’s business schedule. As per the changes proposed to the Land Acquisition Act, a state could only acquire a maximum 30% land required for an industrial project while the rest has to be purchased directly by the concerned company. If passed, the amendment is expected to see opposition from the states as the issue of land remained a state subject. The NRRP, which comprehensively deals with rehabilitation aspect of land acquisition for industrial use, states that families displaced due to industrial project are to be given market rate for the land, including some compensation in terms of shares and debentures of the company. “In case of a project involving land acquisition on behalf of a requiring body, and if the body is a company authorised to issue shares and debentures, the affected families who are entitled to get compensation for the land or other property required shall be given the option to take up 20% of the compensation amount due to them in the form of share and debentures,” NRRP states. Sources also said the GoM has accepted the rural development ministry’s demand for 70:30 formula for land acquisition for industry, which was earlier opposed by Left parties, a parliamentary panel and few state governments. The suggested policy change

in policy assumes significant as NRRP categorically says that the purpose of setting up an industrial unit should be to minimise large scale displacement of people as far as possible. NRRP and the associated legislative measures aim at striking a balance between the need for land for developmental activities and at the same time protecting the interests of the land owners, tenants, the landless, agricultural and nonagricultural labourers, artisans and others whose livelihood depends on the land involved. (Financial Express 26/2/09)

Patkar warns massive protest against MP govt (4) Bhopal, February 28, 2009: Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar on Saturday said that she would launch a massive protest in Madhya Pradesh if Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan does not listen to the grievences of displaced people. "If MP Chief Minister Chouhan does not give time to hear the grievances of displaced people of different projects like dams and power projects in the state on March seven, I will launch a massive protest in the State, " Patkar said while addressing a state level meeting of displaced people organised jointly by an NGO INSAF and MP Kisan Sangharsh Samiti here. "I along with a delegation of displaced people called on the state Energy Minister Anoop Mishra today but Chouhan did not have time to meet us," she added. Patkar said that she, along with a delegation of displaced people was going to hold talks with the MP government on March seven and if Chouhan does not participate in it, she will inform all the NGOs working for the displaced people across the country to join hands with them to launch the massive protest in the state. She alleged massive corruption in rehabilitation work and compenstation to the displaced people in the state. Patkar asked the displaced people to stick to the demand of land-for-land compensation rather cash. (Hindustan Times 1/3/09) SEZs: study finds wide gaps in projections, achievements (4) HYDERABAD: For all the hype created over Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the State portraying them as future growth engines, a study has shown a wide gap between what was projected and what had been achieved so far, in terms of jobs and investment. It has also come up with a host of other interesting findings on land. Of the projected employment of 25 lakh persons, so far 61,905 got jobs in 40 of the 58 notified SEZs that have become operational or 2.47 per cent. Of the projected break-up of 8.9 lakh and 16.82 lakh direct and indirect employment respectively, those who actually got jobs were 33,933 directly (1.35 per cent) and 27,972 indirectly (1.1 per cent). As for investments, of the projected Rs.40,000 crore, these SEZs could attract Rs.5,470 crore or 13 per cent, Usha Sitalakshmi, a social activist, who had just completed the study, “SEZs in Andhra Pradesh - Issues, concerns and way ahead”, told The Hindu. The field study was done in eight districts where these SEZs have been located after obtaining details from various departments and corporations, including Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and Revenue. There were “inconsistencies” in other areas too, especially land acquisition. While the APIIC says it has acquired 33,296 acres for 100 SEZs, field studies show that the land acquired was more than 34,000 acres for just 15 SEZs. “This means that the land acquired could be 4 to 5 times higher than the official figure,” she added. In the official records the government land acquired was shown as 6,100 acres for 58 SEZs but the field study showed acquisition of 17,500 acres for 15 SEZs. Notwithstanding government denials, the study found that a large extent of land acquired was not wasteland but single and two crop agricultural land and land assigned to weaker section small and marginal farmers as well as patta land. Of the 20,700 acres acquired in the eight study districts, 12,779 acres was patta (dry), 1,823 acres patta (wet), 2,078 assignment land and 4,020 acres government land. Other findings include forcible acquisition of agriculture lands in the name of ‘public purpose’ and other undemocratic means as threat of seizure, court attachment, creating ‘mass phobia’ and co-opting village leaders. All SEZs were located close to metro cities, towns or ports spawning real estate activity around them. In many cases, lands acquired in the past for industrial parks and growth centres have been reallocated to Special Economic Zones such as the pharma SEZ in Polepally. (The Hindu 2/3/09) New SEZ notification needs clarity, procedural changes, says KPMG (4) New Delhi: The government should further clear its stand regarding the latest notification on special economic zones (SEZs) and make the cumbersome procedure more streamlined, global consultancy services firm KPMG said. “(The) government should clarify as to whether the new notification is optional because as per the SEZ Act the services provided to the SEZ units are completely exempt from service

tax,” KPMG India executive director (Indirect taxes) Pratik Jain said. Elaborating further Jain said, “the new notification (implies) a cumbersome procedure. The process of claiming the funds require following an elaborate procedure, the process should be streamlined so that the refunds are obtained on a timely basis, preferably within 30 days.” Earlier this month, the government broadened the ambit of services exempted from service tax for SEZs, as services provided to these zones even from outside will not be taxable. As per the Central Board of Exercise and Customs notification issued on March 4, the government exempted the taxable services “whether or not the said services are provided inside the special economic zone”. Currently services provided physically in the SEZ like security and others are exempt from tax while those provided by advertising agencies, management consultants and others from outside the zone are not. “This notification is a good news for the service provider but there is some amount of conflict between this notification and the SEZ Act, which exempts service provider from payment of service tax,” Jain said. Implications of the new mechanism would be beneficial for the service providers as now they can claim full credit for the service taxes they have paid on input services. (Financial Express 9/3/09) SEZ to be one of major planks for Opposition in Maharashtra (4) Mumbai: Even as Maharashtra has received clearance for a record 141 special economic zones (SEZs), the ruling Congress and NCP are not keen to take the political mileage in the forthcoming general elections but trade cautiously. On the other hand, saffron BJP and Shiv Sena and Left parties propose to make their anti-SEZ stand as one of the election issues. Congress and NCP have reiterated that the coercive tactics will not be taken to acquire land. The saffron parties have been the state government for its anti farmers policies in the implementation of SEZs. Moreover, the Left Front has called for stay on the development of Maha Mumbai SEZ by Reliance Industries and two power projects with a total generation capacity of over 5,200 mw in the Raigad district. A senior Congress minister, who wanted not to be quoted, told FE ‘‘It is a reality that during the Congress-NCP rule the Centre has cleared a record 141 SEZs of which 43 have already been notified’’. These are single as well as multi product SEZs. The government cleared its position that it will be a facilitator in the land acquisition process and it won’t directly involve in it. Besides, the government has taken a major decision that no fertile land will be acquired for SEZs. Similarly, NCP sources said that its president Sharad Pawar during his chief ministership in 1977-80 had introduced a policy where project outsees will be given 12.5% land. The party has been firm on this stand and has come out in open to support the cause of PAPs. However, Sena and BJP have decided to grill Congress and NCP on its SEZ development policy during the election campaigning. Sena has blamed the government for taking a pro-SEZ developers stand. On the other hand, BJP has alleged that SEZ policy has resulted in the land grabbing by developers body while keeping the locals in lurch. Moreover, left parties particularly Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), CPI, CPM and other secular parties such as Janata Dal (secular) have been quite vocal on this issue. Meanwhile PWP, which has supremacy over the coastal Raigad district, has been running an agitation against the SEZ being developed by the Reliance Industries and India Bulls. Similar protests were also organised in other parts. Left parties have decided to expose the Congress and NCP during the Lok Sabha poll campaign. (Financial Express 10/3/09) Exports from SEZs likely to touch Rs 90,000 cr (4) NEW DELHI: The global economic downturn notwithstanding, exports from India’s special economic zones (SEZs) are continuing to show robust growth. Units in SEZs are expected to post a 40% increase in exports to Rs 90,000 crore this fiscal, commerce secretary G K Pillai has said. Exports from SEZs in the next fiscal is likely to go up by more than half to Rs 1,45,000 crore in 2009-10, he added. The global slowdown has, however, forced about 100 odd SEZ developers from across sectors with formal approval from the government to put on hold their investment plans for about a year till things improve. "The new SEZs, where project implementation has not yet started or just begun, are wanting to wait for a while to be first sure of their anchor investors. They want to wait for about six-twelve months. Projects which are more than two-thirds complete would, however, start operations soon," Mr Pillai told ET. The commerce department, which is over-all incharge of SEZs, expects about 120 SEZs to be operational by Decemberend as opposed to the present 87. India's overall export growth is expected to be lower than 10% this year at about $170 billion compared to $162 billion in 2007-08. (Economic Times 16/3/09) At 40%, SEZ exports growing four times faster than national average (4)

NEW DELHI: Exports from the country’s special economic zones (SEZs) are growing faster than the country’s average, but 100 zones on the anvil could become a casualty of the global economic downturn. Units in existing SEZs are expected to post a 40% increase in exports to reach Rs 90,000 crore this fiscal, according to commerce secretary G K Pillai, whose department is overseeing the development of SEZs. They are likely to increase another 55% to touch Rs 1,45,000 crore in 2009-10 , he said. The 40% growth in exports from SEZs in 2008-09 is much higher than the overall growth in exports from the country pegged at less than 10%. The country’s goods exports in 2008-09 are estimated at $170 billion compared to $162 billion in 2007-08 . The slowdown has, however, forced 100-odd SEZ developers with formal approvals from the government to put their investment plans on hold. “New SEZs, where project implementation has not yet started or has just begun, want to wait for a while to be first sure of their anchor investors. They may postpone their investment plans by 6-12 months. Projects which are more than two-thirds complete would, however, start operations soon,” Mr Pillai added. The commerce department expects about 120 SEZs to be operational by 2009-end , up from existing 87. Investments are also expected to flow into zones which have infrastructure in place. SEZs with infrastructure in place — such as the Mundra multi-product SEZ and Reliance Industries’ Jhajjar SEZ — are the ones expected to attract maximum investment. “We expect investment worth Rs 1,00,000 crore in the Mundra SEZ, when the 2,400 mw power plant gets commissioned . The first phase, with 315 mw, will get commissioned in March,” Mr Pillai said. Infosys, too, is likely to make three IT SEZs operational by June this year. (Economic Times 17/3/09) Stripped of land, ignored by authorities (4) NAGPUR : This summer, the votes may be frozen in Shivangaon village in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Stripped of their land and ignored by the authorities, the people here have decided to boycott the Lok Sabha elections. “The government took my land cheap and only gives us an assurance of rehabilitation. Why should I vote? No one is going to vote. We are boycotting the election,” asserts Shakuntala Mohatkar. Her village has been displaced by the upcoming Multimodal International Hub at Nagpur (MIHAN) — a multiple facility complex of airport, Special Economic Zone (SEZ), rail-road connections and residential and commercial complexes. Spread over 4,600 hectares, the project’s estimated cost is Rs. 14,235 crore. Shivangaon has seen a wave of protests for the last several years, with the stir gaining greater momentum from 2007. When it was a still a cargo hub, the village spearheaded protests against it in 2003. In 2004, the village took out a mock funeral procession of the hub and led morchas to the Zilla Parishad office. More radical methods followed in 2007, when children and women, including Sena MP Prakash Jadhav tonsured their heads in protest. In 2008, a cattle morcha was organised, as milk production is a thriving occupation there. Meetings with prominent leaders like Sonia Gandhi also put the plight of the people on the national memory. Their efforts have however drawn a blank. “When we met Sonia Gandhi she said we are following the Haryana pattern [providing housing through public private participation]. On April 16, we will show them,” warned Bapu Ambhore, a farmer. MIHAN is the latest in a series of projects around the cargo hub to which the villagers have lost their lands. “First I lost part of my land for the airport, then to the Air Force’s Gajraj project, and subsequently for a road, a cargo hub and NIT (Nagpur Improvement Trust),” says Ambhore. Although the Congress has been pushing the project, a party corporator Baba Dhavre has been at the forefront of the protests in Shivangaon. He is dead against MIHAN. “The promise of jobs rings hollow. For instance, the Tata manufacturing plant spread over five acres at MIHAN is estimated to give jobs to 50,000 people. The area cannot accommodate 50,000 workers in the first place. The lakes in MIHAN, earlier designed to give water to the farmers have been sold to private parties. In time the truth will come out,” he says. Around 13 villages have been affected by MIHAN, which is home to 2000 farm families, as per Dhavre’s estimate. Given the size, cost and scope of the project, MIHAN is set to become a political plank for parties to lure urban voter with the promise of jobs. Mr. Banwarilal Purohit, BJP’s candidate in Nagpur for the election, has spoken of clearing the roadblocks in the completion of MIHAN. “We will not bluff the people; we want industrialisation.” As for rehabilitation, “that remains,although compensation has been given,” he says. Work on MIHAN has barely started, and the promise of employment and “development” remains a distant carrot. Older projects have failed to generate jobs say the people of Shivangaon. Its landless farmers, comprising Kunbi and Buddhist communities, have lost their faith in the government and political parties. “You tell us whom do we elect?” they ask, in disgust. (The Hindu 25/3/09) Protest staged against SEZs (4)

VISAKHAPATNAM: People’s organisations and NGOs staged a dharna in front of the Collectorate here on Wednesday demanding scrapping of SEZs Act as part a nation-wide agitation. The Gandhi Centre, the Sarvodaya Mandali, AP Vyayasaya Vrittidarula Union, the AP Vyayasaya Coolie Sangham, the Human Rights Forum, National Alliance of People’s Movements, the Keratam Network and other organisations participated in the dharna programme.Secretary of Vrittidarula Union P.S. Ajay Kumar said it was necessary on the part of people’s organisations and others to mobilise people against the SEZs since all the major political parties had not opposed the SEZ Act whether they were in power or not and also tried to create SEZs. He also reminded that there was a huge gap between the number of jobs the government promised when it allowed SEZs and the actual number of people engaged in the units of SEZs. The government said 25 lakh people would get jobs in the 57 SEZs notified in the State but the actual number of jobs provided was only 60,000. Secretary of Human Rights Forum V.S. Krishna said the SEZs, coastal corridor and other projects would deny food grains to the people and uproot the marginalised communities like fishermen and Dalits. Fertile lands were being taken away and the sea would be polluted due to these industries, he said. Octogenarians and Gandhians K.S. Sastry and S. Gopala Sastry, G.S.N. Sarma of Sarvodaya Mandali, Chalasani Prasad of Virasam, K.S. Chalam of Struggle Committee against Costal Corridor, Teddu Naidu of Matsyakara Yujan Sangham, Arjilli Dasu of fishermen association, Boddu Vasudeva Rao of agricultural labour union, Lonja Rajababu of Fifth Schedule Sadhana Committee and others spoke. (The Hindu 26/3/09) Supreme Court asks MP govt to pay compensation to NBA activists (4) New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Madhya Pradesh government to pay 50 per cent of the compensation award ordered by the High Court to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activists including its leader Medha Patkar who were kept in illegal detention in July 2007. A Bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, said the state government will have to pay Rs 5,000 of the Rs 10,000 compensation award directed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court to each of the 121 victims within four weeks. The High Court had ordered compensation for 26 women and 95 men who were kept under detention for more than 24 hours from July 25 to 30, 2007. The activists, including those affected by NBA, were taken detained near Badwani district while protesting against the rehabilitation measures of the state government for the oustees of Sardar Sarovar project. Madhya Pradesh Police had contended that they were taken under detention as there was reasonable fear of breach of peace in the region by the protestors. The High Court had regarded the letter written by Patkar as the petition and decided the matter after examining the CD of the protest and police action. The High Court had awarded compensation to them holding that their arrest and subeseuqent detention in jail was in violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution. (The Hindu 27/3/09) “Joint registration one way to protect women’s land rights” (4) BHUBANESWAR: Activists called for joint registration of land records in Orissa saying women were increasingly coming under immense burden in the absence of clear land title against their names during time of migration and displacement. Speaking at a workshop on women land rights in Orissa, organised by Jana Kalyan Sanstha, Professor Asha Hans, former director of School of Women Studies in Utkal University, said women in the State often had no decision making power with regard to land. A vicious cycle works during the time of migration. As the agriculture land patches are slowly slipping from the hands of marginal farmers to non-farmers, men are migrating from their villages. Subsequently, family burden falls on female member, Ms. Hans said. Of late, whole family members were migrating but problem still persisted, she said. In West Bengal, 15 per cent of land records were jointly but in Orissa no concrete information on land records was available, Ms. Hans said. Though rehabilitation and resettlement policy framed by State overnment was touted to be the best in the country, justice was not done to women as compensation money often eluded many. During agricultural transplantation women constituted 40 per cent of workforce but when it came to making people skilful in agriculture extension programmes, women were hardly found in the picture, Ms. Hans said. Social activists Vidya Das said the problem was worse in tribal-dominated regions of the State. Bharat Bhusan Thakur, who has been working on land rights for quite some time, said due to lack of education and awareness, women invariably did not have record of rights. (The Hindu 27/3/09) Villagers observe fast seeking compensation for land (4)

Tuticorin: A group of villagers observed fast here on Monday seeking compensation of Rs. 3 lakh an acre for the land acquired by SIPCOT for industrial purpose. According to the agitators, the residents of A. Kumararediyapuram, Meelavittan, South Veerapandiapuram, Kayalurani, Saminatham, Rajavinkovil and Madathur did not get a fair compensation for the land acquired by SIPCOT. They said based on talks held with the villagers by the district administration on September, 26 of 2007, the compensation should have been given in three months. But, it was not settled. N.S. Chandra Bose, President, Village People Welfare Association, led the hunger strike. (The Hindu 31/3/09) Will goods going to SEZs attract customs duty, Govt. asks SC (4) New Delhi (PTI): The Government has sought the Supreme Court's intervention in deciding whether goods sent from a unit in a domestic tariff area to another unit in a special economic zone (SEZ) will attract customs duty. The Ministry of Commerce had dragged the Essar group to court alleging that iron ore pellets and calibrated iron ore supplied by an Essar unit to the Essar SEZ, Hazira, are goods exported from India for the purpose of such levy. A bench headed by Justice S H Kapadia, however, adjourned the matter till April 9. The petition filed by the Ministry has challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court's interim order that allowed Essar Steel to continue its arrangement without paying customs duty on goods supplied from its domestic tariff area (DTA) unit at Vizag to the Hazira SEZ unit. The High Court had ordered that Essar was not liable to pay customs duty in the absence of any specific provisions under the SEZ Act, 2005, to levy customs duty or any corresponding amendment in the Customs Act, 1962. (The Hindu 31/3/09) Notice on Medha plea (4) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to V.K. Saxena, president of the National Council for Civil Liberties, on a petition filed by Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, seeking transfer of a criminal defamation case against her from an Ahmedabad court to a court in Delhi. Mr. Saxena filed the case in June 2006 for her alleged defamatory remarks during a television debate on the Sardar Sarovar Project. The Ahmedabad court on August 14, 2008 issued summons to Ms. Patkar and on January 29 this year a bailable warrant. Ms. Patkar told a Bench that the Supreme Court had already transferred another defamation case filed in Ahmedabad against her by Mr. Saxena and it was pending before a Delhi court. Moreover, there was still threat to her safety because of her stand against the Sardar Sarovar Project. (The Hindu 7/4/09) Mamata in Kasba with land war cry (4) Calcutta, April 6: Mamata Banerjee today left behind her guards and marched through a CPM pocket in her constituency to instil confidence among party workers who had complained of “harassment” by cadres. The march followed a meeting with Trinamul Congress activists in Kasba’s Rajdanga where she accused the government of grabbing land to build malls. The area, a CPM pocket borough, became part of Mamata’s Calcutta South constituency after delimitation this year. “I started a movement in Rajdanga way back in 1985 as an MP of Jadavpur (the constituency under which the area came then) when the CPM was evicting refugees to grab land. I shall start a Singur-Nandigram-style agitation here if the CPM dares to grab land to build malls in the name of development,” she told the meeting. The Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) had acquired the Rajdanga playground nearly five years ago for a stadium, a swimming pool and a mall despite opposition from a section of local residents. The residents’ profile in this part of south-east Calcutta has undergone a sea change with a boom in real estate and mushrooming of shops and restaurants. In the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, Rajdanga is represented by a CPM councillor. A large police contingent had today been deployed in the area, awash with CPM flags, festoons and banners. After the meeting, over 50 Trinamul workers from the neighbouring Naskarpara complained to Mamata about not being allowed to campaign by CPM activists. Trinamul flags and festoons are being ripped off, she was told. A fuming Mamata left her convoy and personal security at the meeting venue and marched through the lanes and bylanes of the congested area, covering a distance of nearly 4km. “I will not go home. Instead, I shall walk with you to see how the CPM have unleashed terror on you,” she was heard telling supporters walking with her. Asif Khan, the leader of a Trinamul-affiliated minority forum in Rajdanga, said the “padyatra would help boost party workers’ morale.” (Telegraph 7/4/09) Kashmiri Pandits seek constitution of relief board (4)

Jammu, April 07, 2009: An organisation of Kashmiri Pandits has appealed to the state government to set up a separate development board for relief and rehabilitation of the displaced community. All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) president Moti Koul on Tuesday said constitution of a board was essential to take care of the community, including formulation of measures for the return of its people in exile. AIKS is the apex body of several organisations of Kashmiri Pandits. He alleged that the state government was spending just 30 per cent of Centre's assistance for their welfare. Koul appealed for introduction of Kashmiri Hindu Shrine Bill in the state legislature for consolidation of community's shrines and assets. (Hindustan Times 7/4/09) SEZs needed to tackle unemployment in Goa: industry lobby (4) The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Wednesday said the state needed at least two to three Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to offset rising unemployment, even as the state government has reiterated it does not need any SEZ. GCCI president Nitin Kuncolienkar said the state government had absolutely no plans for the 250,000 qualified youngsters, who would be a part of the employment stream in the coming decade. 'These are figures from the Economic Survey of Goa. Does the government have any plan at all to handle this? I don't think any more government jobs can be created. SEZ could have been the right answer,' Kuncolienkar said. He explained that while the state government had blundered in allotting 15 SEZs in this tiny coastal state, setting up of two of three SEZ would have been extremely beneficial. 'Two or three small, decent-sized SEZ spread over one or two lakh sq mts catering to specific environmentally friendly sectors like information technology would have created significant employment,' he said. 'With no SEZ altogether, Goa would have to pay the price in the coming years, with rising unemployment,' he added. The GCCI president was also critical of the increasing number of civil protests against any developmental initiative, which he claimed was dithering investors from setting shop in Goa. 'The government must not succumb to such pressures. We must look at moving forward, despite these hurdles.'The setting up of more than a dozen SEZs in the state had created a furore, with the opposition and various civil society groups taking to the streets alleging they were only a buzzword for landgrabbing. The state government in 2008 scrapped 12 out of the 15 SEZ projects. The promoters of the remaining three notified SEZs, namely Meditab Specialities Private Ltd (123.2 hectares), Peninsula Pharma Research Centre Pvt Ltd (20.36 hectares) and K. Raheja Corp. Pvt. Ltd. (106 hectares) have also approached the Bombay High Court for relief. (IndiaENews 8/4/09) All land acquisitions put on hold in Chandigarh (4) Chandigarh: The Centre has asked the Chandigarh administration to put on hold further land acquisitions under the Land Acquisition Act with immediate effect. The missive from the Centre reached the administration on April 7 and it comes in the wake of the agitation launched by farmers demanding a probe by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) into the land acquisition policy of the administration. The letter from the ministry of home affairs arrives when the Chandigarh administration is awarding compensation for the remaining 167 acres of land proposed to be acquired for the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park. On more than one occasion, the administrator and advisor, Chandigarh administration, had locked horns on the issue of land acquisition, each supporting a diametrically opposite view. The farmers of Manimajra and Daria villages have been demanding a probe by the CVC into the administration’s land acquisition policies. A delegation of farmers had also met UT advisor Pradip Mehra to submit a detailed representation, alleging that certain administration officials were hand-in-glove with the land-mafia. The matter assumes significance as Chandigarh Technology Park’s phase I and II have been sanctioned as Special Economic Zones (SEZ) by the ministry of commerce. However, necessary approvals for designating phase III as an SEZ are yet to be received. The ministry of home affairs has desired that in future the co-ordination committee and the Administrator’s Advisory Council having representatives of ministry of urban development and ministry of home affairs should vet such initiatives. The ministry of home affairs has further desired that the Chandigarh administration should implement the National Rehabilitation and Re-settlement Policy, 2007, and should get its Rehabilitation Policy also vetted from the concerned Ministry. In a communication received by the Chandigarh administration, the ministry of home affairs has also directed a special audit of the projects that are being processed by the Chandigarh administration under a team headed by the Chief Controller of Accounts, Ministry of Home Affairs. Sources in the Chandigarh administration told FE, “Broadly, the audit will involve issues of inadequate compensation to farmers on land acquisition, complaints about exemption, violations where land was sold to private buyers or companies with reference to prevailing rules, allotment of land to IT

park projects and the status about three cases, that of the medi-city, the film city and the theme-cumamusement park.” (Financial Express 9/4/09)

Displaced farmers in Andhra contesting to highlight their plight (4) Hyderabad April 14, 2009: As many as 15 farmers of Polepally village in the backward Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh have filed their nomination for the Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha constituency as independent candidates for the coming general elections. Their purpose is to draw people’s attention to their plight and also of all others whose land have been acquired for setting up a special economic zone (SEZ). Of course, this is not for the first time that the unlettered and apolitical farmers are contesting the elections. They had done so in the by-elections held in May 2008. Thirteen of them contested for the Jadcherala Assembly segment, which comprises Polepally. They together garnered over 13,500 votes and all of them forfeited their security deposits. They were, however, happy at the outcome as they could draw the attention of the people of the state to their prolonged struggle against the SEZ. This time, they want to draw the attention of the country. The farmers’ problems started in 2003, when the then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government identified 969 acres in Polepally and Mudureddypally villages for setting up the SEZ. In 2005, the Congress government enforced the proposal leading to displacement of around 350 small and marginal farmers. Nearly half the land acquired was assigned land belonging to dalits and tribals. According to farmers, their compensation ranged from Rs 18,000 to Rs 50,000 per acre depending on whether it was an assigned or patta land, while the market price stood at around Rs 20 lakh an acre. The farmers were against the SEZ from the beginning. In 2003, they blocked the HyderabadBangalore national highway in protest against land acquisition. The next year, they staged a demonstration before the state Legislative Assembly. A Polepally SEZ Vyathireka Aikya Sanghatana (Alliance against Polepally SEZ) was formed and the struggle continued. Meanwhile, 200 acres in the SEZ have been earmarked for pharmaceutical companies, where Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd and Hetero Drugs Ltd are setting up their facilities. (Business Standard 14/4/09) SEZ developers need more time to finish projects (4) New Delhi: Faced with a severe financial crunch, several special economic zones (SEZ) developers have approached the commerce ministry seeking more time to complete their projects. “Some companies have asked for extension of time,” commerce secretary GK Pillai said. Pillai heads the inter-ministerial board of approval which clears the proposals for setting up of SEZs where units are given tax exemptions. Export Promotion Council for export-oriented units (EOUs) and SEZ units director general L B Singhal said, “It is natural because of the current economic slowdown ... demand for space has also come down.” After each stage of approval—in principle and formal—the developer is given time to proceed and return to the government for final notification. Even after final notification, the promoter gets time to make the SEZ functional. While Pillai did not disclose the companies approaching the commerce ministry for extension of time, sources said developers, mainly from the real estate sector, have put their SEZ plans on the back-burner. The real estate majors such as DLF, Parsvanath Developers, Rahejas and Emmar have received formal approvals for tax-free enclaves. Several of these projects have been deferred. The valuations of realty firms have crashed in the last few months after a meltdown in the stock markets, making it difficult for them to tap the capital market for resources. Besides, several of them have sought their debt restructuring from banks. With exports contracting and IIP in the negative zone, investments into SEZ seems to have slowed down. (Financial Express 15/4/09) Tribals, dalits most affected by water resources projects (4) Vadodara: Thirty-two lakh hectares of revenue land has been acquired in the state for various development projects in the last 57 years. Tribals and Dalits remain the most affected by the displacement sought for various water resources projects, according to a recently published book, Land acquisition, displacement and resettlement in Gujarat: 1947-2004. While the government has increased the process of acquiring land for Special Economic Zones and Special Investment Regions, the two-year study, conducted by city-based organisation Centre for Culture and Development Research (CCDR), has found that land acquisition is creating a “non-inclusive growth and affecting the socio-economic conditions of the displaced people.” The study, now in the form of the book, is the first-ever detailed analysis of the land acquired for development projects and their impact on the displaced and project-affected people of Gujarat. Out of the total land acquisition, 61% is for the water resources projects, 23% for road transport

and communication and 6% for industries related projects, says the study. As per conservative estimates, a total of 4,32,636 families have been displaced so far. Of this, 59% displacement has been due to water resources projects. A total of 34% is for transport and communication projects, while 3.5% for the industries, says the study. “Tribals and Dalits have been the most affected by the water resources projects. Less compensation in these projects has left most of them landless, jobless and homeless. Many tribals have also migrated into non-tribal areas,” says Lancy Lobo, the author of the book. (Indian Express 16/4/09) Land acquisition protests keep Naveen quiet on industrialization (4) Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government, under his stewardship, has signed as many as 49 MoUs with an estimated investment of Rs 6 lakh crore for setting up industrial units in the last ten years. But when it comes to highlighting it as an achievement, Biju Janta Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik is giving it a skip in his election speeches this time around. Perhaps, lessons from the violent protests against land acquisitions across this mineral-rich state that has kept most of the proposed industrial plants non-starters prevented this political veteran to do so. There is anger against the state government’s handling, or rather mishandling, of land acquisitions. Perhaps, Patnaik who is at the helm of affairs in the state for a decade does not want to take a chance as any vote-swing against his party would be fatal, especially when he has just snapped an 11-year-old alliance with the BJP prior to the elections. The Orissa government has signed MoUs with virtually every key players in the mining industry such as Tata Steel, South Korean steel giant Posco, Jindals, Arcelor Mittal and Vedanta for setting up mega green-field projects. According to estimates, the state government needs more than 20,000 acre for these projects. However, only about 3,000 acre have so far been acquired by the state government. While the BJD manifesto is silent on how much fresh investment for industrial projects have had come in the last 10 years, it has mention of only 28 companies that have started production and have employed 47,181 workers. Interestingly, the BJD manifesto does keep space for ‘effective & adequate’ steps taken for proper ‘rehabilitation of displaced people’ and ‘environmental protection’. The party has also aimed at generating employment for 15 lakh people in the industrial sector through micro, small, cottage and handloom industries. In his election rallies, Patnaik has been highlighting how Orissa has been ‘neglected’ by the national parties and it is now time to ‘fight unitedly for our rights’. Even on Saturday, while speaking at a rally in Kalinga Nagar, where 12 tribal people were shot dead allegedly by the police for protesting against proposed Tata Steel plant three years back, the chief minister did not even mention about the tribal anger against the proposed project. Instead, he has been harping on his government’s achievement of providing 25 kg rice every month at Rs 2 per kg to each Below the Poverty Line families. (Financial Express 20/4/09) CPI favours new policy on land acquisition (4) KOLKATA: Unlike Big Brother CPM, which appears content with the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, framed by the British, CPI wants Parliament to frame a new land acquisition policy. It also wants an industrial policy, protecting agriculture, should the Third Front come to power at the Centre. "We want industry, protecting agriculture, for the entire country," CPI state secretary Manju Mazumdar said on Tuesday, while addressing the media at the Kolkata Press Club. "The Parliament has to decide how industrialization will take place and how land will be acquired," he asserted. The Third Front would chalk out its programme after the election and any party subscribing to its policies could join it. Mazumdar parried the question if chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had admitted at a Left Front meeting that he himself had ordered the police firing in Nandigram on March 14, 2007, as claimed by Forward Bloc leader Asok Ghosh on Monday. "Who said this? I have no knowledge," he said. Harping on the importance of various national issues in the ensuing Lok Sabha election in the state, Mazumdar refused to speak on local issues, like Singur and Nandigram. "How can Singur and Nandigram be all that important? This is the Lok Sabha election, where all-India issues will be important. It is not significant how the Left Front had fared in the last panchayat election or in the recent Assembly bypolls," he argued. Refusing to accept that supporters of the Opposition had been chased out of Keshpur, part of CPI candidate Gurudas Dasgupta's Ghatal constituency, by the ruling CPM and that it would be difficult for them to cast their votes, Mazumdar argued that the Opposition members were present in strength in Keshpur. "Otherwise, how could they chase away minister Susanta Ghosh from the area," he asked. (Times of India 22/4/09) Fresh trouble in Nandigram (4)

NANDIGRAM: Violence erupted afresh in Nandigram on Thursday afternoon over preparations for a public meeting by Trinamool Congress candidate Subhendu Adhikary. The meeting is scheduled for Friday at the Ranichowk Primary School in Nandigram Block 2. Around noon on Thursday, Trinamool workers were putting up banners and flags in the area when trouble started. Five to six Trinamool workers were allegedly beaten back from the Takapura Karanpalli area by CPM supporters. The latter claimed that Trinamool men were forcibly putting up banners on houses of CPM supporters. Five Trinamool workers had to be taken to hospital after the skirmish. A team from Nandigram police station soon reached the spot . The cops allegedly beat up Takapura local committee member Prafulla Das and CPM worker Alokesh Manna. This resulted in the second round of violence. CPM supporters left their homes and attacked the men in uniform. The vehicle they had travelled in was damaged and two constables were abducted by irate villagers. Police sent an SOS after which a unit of the Nagaland State Armed Police Force — that had arrived on Thursday for poll duty — was sent towards Takapura. The unit could not reach the spot as villagers stopped them at Ranichowk. Finally, a large police force led by Midnapore East SP Pallab Kanti Ghosh reached the spot and rescued the two constables. No arrests were made. “Our workers were protesting a bid by Trinamool supporters to put up banners on our houses. The police beat up our workers. CPM workers had no intention to hurt any policeman. No constable was abducted either. If any vehicle was damaged, police can take action against the accused,” said Ashok Guriya, CPM district committee member. Even as tension was building up at Takapura, shots were heard nearby. It is not yet clear who fired though. The firing continued for nearly 30 minutes but nobody was injured. (Times of India 24/4/09) Infotech awaits SEZ policy of new government (4) HYDERABAD: As the ongoing election process is likely to take some more time for completion, Infotech Enterprises Limited, a leading IT services provider in engineering and other verticals, is keeping its fingers crossed on the policies likely to be adopted by the new government in respect of special economic zones. In the light of threat of expiry of certain concessions after the next financial year, Infotech is waiting anxiously for the new government to clarify its position on exemptions conferred on the free trade zones and tax holidays. “There is an element of uncertainty over 10A and 10B,” Infotech Enterprises Limited chairman and managing director B.V.R. Mohan Reddy said. Mr. Mohan Reddy, whose company has been allotted five acres in the special economic zone at Kakinada, said work at the allotted site was in progress. “But we can clearly define what our strategy is regarding the SEZ only after the new government comes and states its position on 10A and 10B,” he said. Replying to queries, he said the company would take a decision on continuance of Pricewaterhouse as its auditors shortly. While seven out of the nine members of the board discussed the issue during a meeting on April 25, a decision had been kept pending for want of views of the remaining two members. On the company’s performance, he said Infotech registered revenues of Rs. 889.75 crore during 2008-09 against Rs. 674.13 crore of the previous fiscal, marking a 32 per cent growth. Much of the growth (24 per cent) was witnessed during the first half of the year while it slowed down in the second half to remain at 8 per cent. The profit after tax of the company stood at Rs. 92.48 crore against Rs. 85.57 crore, posting 8.1 per cent growth and the company had recommended a 30 per cent dividend Rs. 1.5 per equity share of Rs. 5 for the fiscal. (The Hindu 28/4/09) Election highlights economic zone anger (4) BBC News, Raigad, Maharashtra: Shivaji Patil, 69, is firmly against a proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in his village about 90km (56 miles) from the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay). He stands to lose about seven acres of farmland if the scheme goes ahead. In this election, the issue of land acquisition for SEZs is a priority for the voters of the Raigad and Maval constituencies, where several are planned. However, most political parties have not made it a part of their manifesto and as a result the election atmosphere is low key. About 22 villages in Raigad stand to lose 5,700 acres of land for an SEZ proposed by Reliance industries. The villages are part of the MahaMumbai SEZ (Great Mumbai SEZ), which is planned to spread over 45 villages in total and more than 20,000 acres of land.In a rare public opinion exercise in September 2008, more than 80% of farmers voted against the proposed SEZ. Farmers are increasingly impatient with what they see as the non-committal stand by political parties over the issue. They almost unanimously oppose the Congress-led government's refusal to accept the public opinion exercise. But they do not agree on what they want for their land in future. Mr Patil, who worked as a primary schoolteacher for 40 years while simultaneously running his farm, has opposed the SEZ for

more than two years. "We are not starving, there is no need for us to sell our land at such throwaway prices to the private companies," he says. However, he does attach an important proviso. If he gets a "good price", (nearly 10 times what is proposed) and is assured of not being displaced, he is willing to give up his land. Most farmers oppose the SEZs because they say they will lose crops at a time when a soon-to-be-completed dam will ensure high quality irrigation and more produce. They allege that the government is now postponing the irrigation scheme and delaying the supply of water to this land in a bid to hasten their departure. While political parties have not actively been talking about SEZs, there are signs that could be about to change. A recent - and somewhat unlikely - tie-up between the right wing Shiv Sena party and the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) is significant, because both say they strongly oppose the zones. This could spell trouble for the Congress party candidate in Raigad district, AR Antulay, who now faces the prospect of being shunned by the electorate even though he personally has kept quiet over the issue……… (BBC News 28/4/09) New land acquisition policy a boon for Haryana farmers (20) Chandigarh: His clothes are no longer soiled. The moneylender has stopped driving him around. His children study in prestigious schools. Banks that were chasing him earlier to realise loan installments now woo him for deposits. His social and economic stock having gone up, he has come to command respect. The life of this Haryana farmer has taken a 360-degree turn. All thanks to the new land acquisition policy of the state. The policy has not only hiked the compensation payable to the farmer for the land acquired but also laced it with a sort of inflation-linked royalty payable to him for 33 years. The annuity gets an annual hike too. The policy also has it that in case a unit is set up on the land acquired, one member of the farmer’s family will get a job. The policy lays down the minimum floor rate below which land cannot be acquired. It varies from place to place. The rate of Rs 15 lakh per acre, fixed for land acquisition in urban areas falling under the Gurgaon Development Plan, has now been enhanced to Rs 20 lakh per acre. In the suburban areas of Haryana under the National Capital Region (NCR), Panchkula and on the periphery of Chandigarh, the floor rate of 12.5 lakh per acre has been raised to Rs 16 lakh. In the remaining parts of the state, the rate of Rs 8 lakh per acre has been fixed against the average price of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per acre. And to those farmers whose land is acquired by the Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), the state government has decided to provide an annual compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre for 33 years in the form of royalty, besides giving them fixed compensation. The royalty would be increased by Rs 500 every year. Should the land be acquired for setting up a special economic zones (SEZ), technology city and technology park, the annuity would be paid by the developers at the rate of 30,000 per acre for 33 years. The annuity would be increased by Rs 1,000 every year. As a result, a farmer offering an acre of land for acquisition, now gets anything between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 32 lakh, depending on the area, against not more than Rs 3 to Rs 6 lakh before 2005. (Financial Express 30/4/09) Pejawar seer fasts for the cause of 'SEZ displaced deities' (4) Mangalore: Protesting punarpratishta and brahmakalashotsava of the ‘SEZ displaced’ deities in the newly constructed daivasthana complex in Kudubi Padav, Udupi Pejawar Mutt seer Vishweshateertha Swamiji held a day-long fast at Permude Somanatha Temple on Thursday. The seer had begun his fast on Wednesday evening itself in Udupi condemning the punarpratishtapana programmes against the wish of the locals. On Thursday, he continued his fast in Permude. The localites joined him and urged the government to give them land for farming but not monetary compensation. Swamiji said he would not lead the agitation but he would be on the part of the victims. He said he would speak to the chief minister after May 16 and explain him the plight of the displaced. Brahmakalashotsava rituals were being held for Palareguttu Sri Ullaya, Sri Kumbhakantini, Permude Mukkodi Vyaghrachamundi Daivas, who lost their original places when the land was acquired for the special economic zone. (Deccan Herald 1/5/09) SEZ policy set for overhaul after polls (4) New Delhi: Irrespective of whichever party or coalition comes to power at the Centre, the investmentmagnet Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy will be in for some major changes. Anticipating this, the commerce ministry has begun an exercise to gather suggestions from developers, units and stakeholders to improve the functioning of these tax-free enclaves. On the basis of the feedback, the government will also hold an inter-ministerial meeting to sort out policy and operational issues. A lot is at stake as these zones have so far attracted over Rs 90,000-crore investments and given direct employment to around

2.3-lakh people — as per data culled from the ministry. Despite global slowdown, exports from SEZs had recorded 33% growth to touch Rs 89,000 crore last fiscal, much above the growth of shipments from the rest of the country at 3.4%. SEZ exports also formed close to 10.8% of India’s total exports. So far, around 572 SEZ projects have received formal approval, of which 282 have formally been notified. Bibek Debroy, economist, working with the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, said the changes need not involve a new legislation to rewrite the Special Economic Zones Act of 2005. “A lot of the changes could be of rules. But it is certain that the policy would be reworked, as one of the first things the new government would undertake”. The performance of the SEZs will help the new government contend with the problems of land grab, that some of them have been accused of. While the UPA has not mentioned SEZ in its manifesto, Debroy said as the composition of the coalition is expected to change, a fresh examination of SEZs is fairly certain. The BJP, in its manifesto, has clearly criticised the SEZ policy saying these tax-free enclaves “spells disaster for the farm sector.” The party said if voted to power, it would amend existing laws to rectify anomalies pertaining to land acquisition. The CPI(M) manifesto says it will amend the SEZ Act and rules to eliminate the tax concessions and regulate land use and labour policies in the zones. Simultaneously, the commerce ministry is examining another set of issues that have emerged for the developers that could seriously impact the viability of the zones. One of the aspects that has put the government in a spot is the impact of the 20-odd free trade agreements, that India has inked or is negotiating with different trading partner countries and regions,... (Financial Express 4/5/09) Villagers seek return of ancestral land from Lafarge (4) SHILLONG, May 3 – About 55 villagers from Shella are fighting desperately to get back their ancestral land from cement giant Lafarge after these villagers claimed they were tricked by agents to sell their land. On behalf of these villagers, the Shella Action Committee (SAC) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court to get back their land. The Supreme Court in an order passed in 2008 directed the Gauhati High Court to pass an appropriate order regarding the case. These villagers are illiterate and were tricked to sell their agricultural and horticultural land and are now totally at a loss having no source of income, said BM Roy Dolloi, legal advisor of SAC. SAC is waiting for an early hearing to their PIL which is listed in the Gauhati High Court. “We hope the PIL would be taken up soon by the Gauhati High Court”, Dolloi said expressing optimism. The village Dorbar (council), he added, was always against the sale of village land to the company. The General Secretary of Shella Dorbar returned a cheque of Rs 2 lakh to Lafarge company, which it had donated to the Dorbar recently, Dolloi said indicating the Council’s opposition to the Lafarge project in the area. After purchasing and taking on lease these land from villagers, Lafarge through one of its sister companies has mortgaged it to six foreign banks and secured a loan of $ 153 million. “How can Indian territory be mortgaged to foreign banks? I took up the matter in the Asian Development Banks (one of the financing banks) conference in Manila some years back. They (ADB officials) too expressed surprise”, Dolloi argued. He also states that according to the State Land Transfer Act no tribal land can be sold or leased to non-tribals. Lafarge by definition under the Act is a non-tribal entity. However, in 2005, Donkupar Roy, the local MLA and the then Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of revenue gave the clearance. A public hearing with regard to Lafarge’s project was due in 2006, but Lafarge went ahead and started its construction and began operation, Dolloi said. Lafarge has built a plant of $ 225 million to extract limestone from Shella. The limestone is exported by a 17 km-long conveyor belt (one of the longest in the world) to its plant at Chattak, Bangladesh. The 17 km belt was given permission to operate for 12 hours by the government, however, villagers say it runs day and night and nobody knows what is being transported through these long operations, Dolloi informed. (Assam Tribune 4/5/09) Power plant: villagers seek compensation (4) ADILABAD: Villagers from Pegadapalli and three other nearby habitations on Monday demanded adequate compensation for lands to be acquired for establishment of a 600 MW thermal power plant by the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). They also demanded jobs for local unemployed persons and development of schools, drains and drinking water provision to be made by the SCCL besides measures to control heat emanating from the proposed power project. About 1,000 villagers attended a public hearing on environmental aspects associated with the establishment of the project at Pegadapalli village in Jaipur mandal. Srirampur Chief General Manager M. Sheshu Kumar Reddy, Project Officer E. Krishna Reddy, AGM (Environment) Mallesham, Environment Officers Raghu Kumar and

Sharath Kumar and Pollution Control Officer Chandrakanth Naik from Nizamabad attended. (The Hindu 5/5/09)

SEZ victims to decide fate of candidates (4) NELLORE: Thousands of farmers who lost their land for setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industries will decide the fate of the candidates in the district. In about five constituencies in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, the SEZ victims and the farmers/villagers or the beneficiaries hold the key. About 15 projects, including five SEZs, were proposed in the district some three years ago with an investment of Rs. 50,000 crore. Officials said that the district will become a industrial hub in the coming years and about 1.50 lakh people will be provided employment directly and create equal number of jobs indirectly. But, only a few companies started production and many are under construction now. Even the industries which were set up have not started production fully and only a few hundreds of people are being employed. The projects were proposed in Kovur, Kavali, Sulluripeta, Gudur and Sarvepalli constituencies in the district. Speaking to The Hindu, former Minister and TDP district president Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said the government took valuable lands displacing some thousands of people. Though the court directed the government not to take fertile lands for SEZs, the government forcibly took the lands from farmers. “The multi national companies and the industrialists who selected sites for setting up the projects have just created land banks but are not starting the projects. In Menakur village of Naidupeta mandal, government acquired about 5,700 acres two years ago for setting up a textile park. But, the project was not yet started and the villagers were rendered homeless,” said Mr. Somireddy. “A villager, Venkatesh of Mambattu village in Tada mandal said going by the promises of the officials then (two years ago) we thought that our village will become an industrial centre and the locals will get some livelihood. But, not even one project has started fully,” he said.“We are living in Damavaram village in Buchi mandal for the past 70 years. Recently, the government proposed to construct an airport in about 2,072 acres and without our knowledge the land was taken for the project. When we entered into the fields, the police booked cases against 55 members in the village,” said a farmer, Itha Venkaiah, who owned four acres of land. However, Nellore Lok Sabha contestant Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy has a different view point. He says Krishnapatnam Port, Reliance Power Project, Apache shoe company, MAS Holdings, Kisan SEZ, Caparo, Taiwan Industrial Park, Tata Ryerson Limited, Eastern Mattresses Private Limited, Leather SEZ, Venkem Labs and other projects will provide employment to some thousands of educated youth. “Nellore will soon become the industrial capital for Andhra Pradesh and the dreams of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekara Reddy to solve unemployment problem will come true with the SEZs and other projects in the State,” said Mr. Reddy. (The Hindu 11/5/09) Farmers willing to give land for SEZ: Vedike (4) MANGALORE: The Pragathipara Krishikara Hitharakshana Vedike, while espousing the need for environment friendly industries to come up in Mangalore SEZ notified area, has claimed that farmers are willing to give up their land for second phase of the project. Survey work for the second phase of 2,035acres of land from MSEZ project under taken by KIADB is going on smoothly and the Vedike will support this process if it benefits the farmers. Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, K Vijaya Kumar Shetty, former MLA and honorary president of the Vedike, said the Vedike has placed several demands before MSEZ authorities and they have agreed to most of them. However, discussion in on regarding price for the agriculture land, he said and added that the Vedike has demanded that farmers be paid Rs 15 lakh per acre and even this demand is under consideration by MSEZ authorities. Pointing that the total land available in rural areas of Mangalore taluk is 86,000 acres, he said the land required for SEZ is a mere 4.5 per cent of this available land. If the MSEZ project gets off ground, Shetty said it would create direct and indirect employment opportunities for 2 lakh people. Around 45,000 women too would stand to gain in that they could find employment opportunities in micro industries coming up in SEZ, he said. Apart from the demand for higher compensation for the acquired land for the second phase, Shetty said the Vedike has also placed three more demands before the authorities. These include 60 per cent of jobs created in SEZ should be directly provided to families of farmers who give up their land for the project, and an additional 20 per cent should be given to other eligible candidates from Dakshina Kannada district, he noted. The Vedike insisted that remaining 20 per cent jobs should be given to youths from the state and it can be offered to those from outside Karnataka only if there are not enough suitable candidates for a particular job from within the state. Shetty at the same time expressed regret over what he termed was

inordinate delay on part of MSEZ authorities to fix suitable price for the land, which would then allow the project to proceed further. (Times of India 13/5/09) Sangh Parivar opposes MSEZ second phase (4) MANGALORE: The fight against the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) Project received a shot in the arm with the Sangh Parivar organising a deAmonstration against the project here on Thursday. The Krishi Bhoomi Samrakshana Vedike, an action committee of people, had taken up the cause. Its President Madhukar Amin took part in the demonstration. Leaders of the Sangh Parivar, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the banner MSEZ Pradesha Samrakshana Vedike, joined the protest in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner here. They urged the government to withdraw the notification for acquiring 2,035 acres of land in Mangalore taluk to set up the second phase of the MSEZ. The Sangh Parivar warned of intensifying the agitation if the government went ahead with the second phase of the project. The leaders said they would not allow the company to set up the second phase at the cost of fertile agriculture land and livelihoods of people. They also opposed the Union Government’s plans to build Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) close to Mangalore. A delegation led by M.B. Puranik, president, Mangalore division of Vishwa Hindu Parishat, submitted a memorandum to V. Ponnuraj, Deputy Commissioner, urging the government to drop the second phase of the project. Subrahmanya Holla, karyavahak, Mangalore division of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said that so far the Sangh Parivar did not oppose the project as Mr. Holla claimed that the authorities of MSEZ Limited had promised that they would produce power for industries on their own and make their own arrangements for meeting the water requirement. But now the authorities of the company do not state clearly how they will meet these two requirements. They also had said that the project would create employment opportunities. However, now it appears that the promises are unlikely to be kept, he said. Vasantha Yeyyadi, secretary of the district unit of Bharatiya Mazoor Sangh, wanted to know when agriculture families will be displaced for the project how the project would create employment opportunities. Those who will lose land would have to migrate to urban areas in search of livelihood. Suvrat Kumar, convenor, MSEZ Pradesha Samrakshana Vedike said that development of PCPIR would result in farmers losing 74,000 hectares of fertile land for petroleum industries. (The Hindu 15/5/09) Nandigram votes in hope, votes out fear (4) NANDIGRAM: Trinamool Congress candidate Subhendu Adhikari's resounding victory — by 172,000 votes — over Lakshman Seth is being hailed not only by Trinamool supporters, but also by around CPM supporters who have been living in refugee camps for around two years. For them, the people's mandate is a triumph of hope over fear. Around 150km from Kolkata, West Midnapore's Nandigram used to be in a sleepy neck of the woods. It shot to prominence in 2007, when a land acquisition move for a proposed chemical hub went horribly wrong. A prolonged stand-off with villagers culminated in a violent flashpoint on March 14 that year, when 14 villagers were shot dead. Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee had taken up the villagers' cause. Since then, it polarized the once-peaceful region, which became the site of a bloody turf war between CPM and Trinamool supporters, in which countless people from either party lost their lives or became homeless. The 2000-odd CPM supporters, who were forced to flee home, now plan to approach Subhendu to help them return home. They also see the landslide victory as a sign: that the violence may finally give way to peace on this troubled turf. Fear had been a constant factor in the lives of these people, who had been forced to flee their homes at Jalpai, Sonachura, Gokulnagar, Jadubarichak, Chankendamari, Takapura and Ranichak villages. They expected to get help from their party if Seth won. Now that the verdict has gone the other way, they have no option but to issue a fervent appeal to Subhendu. Take the case of CPM panchayat member from Bhang-abera, Nabakumar Samanta. "Trinamool Congress' victory was legitimate, through the process of democracy. Now, it is time to forget narrow-minded politics of violence. Now that he will represent us in Parliament, we would ask him to let us return to our home," he said. For Sonachura resident Uttam Bhuniya, who was also rendered homeless, "Trinamool has won the political battle and what it had wanted to achieve". He, too plans to seek Subhendu's help for going back home. "There is no reason why Trinamool should continue to view us as their enemy," he says. (Times of India 17/5/09) How Left lost Singur (4)

Singur: The tragedy of Tapasi Malik's murder in the compound of the Nano car factory, it appears, played a bigger role than the exit of the Tatas from Singur if the results of the Lok Sabha elections are any indication. The ghost of Tapasi kept haunting the CPI(M) in village after village as the party faced a rout in the Singur Assembly segment in the Hooghly Lok Sabha seat. The party had drafted Suhrid Dutta — one of the teenager's accused murderers and a CPI(M) zonal committee secretary—as a star campaigner. The CPI(M)'s sitting candidate was trounced by Trinamool Congress nominee Dr Ratna Nag by over a margin of 81,523 votes. This result can also be read as a nod towards Mamata Banerjee's strong stand against forcible land acquisition for industry, and her agitation to drive the Tatas out of Singur. In Singur Assembly segment, the Trinamool Congress not only beat the CPI(M) by over 22,000 votes, but also increased its tally from the 2006 Assembly polls. The Trinamool did better than even the last panchayat elections of 2008, when it had won the majority of seats with an edge of around 14,000 votes over the CPI(M). It won 15 of 16 gram panchayats seats, 37 of 45 in the panchayat samiti and all three seats in the zilla panchayat, the uppermost tier. Muhammed Ismail, 40, a daily wage earner from Bajemelia village in Singur, says the Lok Sabha results do not surprise him. “People's lives come first. Look how they murdered the girl and then garlanded the accused. The CPI(M) and the government made a mess of things here. They destroyed traditional agriculture, they failed to set up the industry. Now we are hoping that Mamata Banerjee will solve this problem and take us out of this mess.” In political circles here, it is believed that the CPI(M)'s bid to campaign with Suhrid Dutta, who was bailed out just before the elections, backfired. Dutta and another accomplice were convicted for the murder of teenage anti-land acquisition agitator Tapasi Malik by a lower court, but the Calcutta High Court granted them bail on the ground that a confessional statement produced by the prosecution against the duo was not in order. Balai Sabui, the CPI(M) district committee member in charge of Singur said, “People did not accept Suhrid Dutta. It was a mistake. Our approach in handling the entire factory issue will have to be re-evaluated.... (Financial Express 23/5/09) Land stir in a month: Mamata (4) KOLKATA: Mamata Banerjee's campaign against land acquisition is very much on track. At a news conference on Sunday, the newly appointed railway minister said the movement against CPM's terror and forcible land acquisition in the state will be resumed in a month's time, after Trinamool leaders settle down in their new roles. Saying that one of her priority areas would be to recover the 400 acres acquired from unwilling farmers in Singur, she said: "Singur is very much on my agenda. Let the ministry formation be complete. We will discuss this issue and chalk out a plan." The state government renewed the lease for 1,000 acres to the Tatas in Singur before polls. "They did this for money," Mamata said. "The Tatas should return 400 acres to unwilling farmers and build the factory on 600 acres if they want. But they can't occupy the land and leave it unused. They've left huge unused plots in Gujarat, Kalinganagar, Singur and Bangladesh." Mamata said another of her priorities would be to build up resistance against CPM terror in districts like Burdwan, Bankura and West Midnapore, where Left Front had won seats by rigging the polls with police help. "We would have won the Burdwan East seat, but the police chief of the district acted like the cadre of a political party." "After six of our ministers take oath in Delhi, they will come back to Bengal and tour the districts. They will go to the houses of people who have been tortured," she added. Trinamool workers were killed in Suri, Rajarhat, Jagatballavpur, Bagnan and Cooch Behar. In all, 11 Trinamool workers and about five workers of other parties were killed. "We are maintaining restraint. We have not even held victory rallies. We don't encourage murders," she said. Mamata said she had kept UPA leaders informed about the reign of terror in Bengal, adding that similar complaints had been made from Kerala also. "After I go back to Delhi I will take up this issue again with the Centre." Opposition leader Partha Chatterjee had met the governor and kept him informed, she said. Mamata also demanded an impartial investigation into misuse of panchayat funds by the Left Front. Even the court and the governor had said the state government was engaging in unconstitutional acts, she said. "There have been defalcation in funds meant for fishermen and for 100 days' guaranteed work. In places where Trinamool was running panchayats, a section of bank employees owing allegiance to CPM were refusing to open bank accounts in the names of beneficiaries of guaranteed employment scheme, so that they could not be paid," she added, advocating a partyless panchayat system. (Times of India 25/5/09) Board to re-look power capacity addition for Mundra SEZ on June 2 (4) New Delhi: The board of approval in the commerce ministry will again take up on June 2 the proposal of Mundra Port and SEZ for almost doubling the power generation capacity at its sector-specific special

economic zone at Kutch in Gujarat. The BoA, headed by commerce secretary GK Pillai had on February 23 deferred the decision on the request from Adani Power Private, the promoter of the Mundra Port and SEZ, for increasing the generation capacity to 5,040mw from 2,640mw approved earlier. The BoA asked the developer to come back with a clear plan for power utilisation since the current utilisation was very low. The proposal will again come up for consideration of the BoA. It is also supported by an indication from the Gujarat government showing projection demand for 10 years from the potential users. The projected demand add up to 5,200mw. “The request of the developer is submitted for consideration of BoA,” according to the agenda document of the BoA meeting. The developer has given justification for raising the generation capacity stating the economic slowdown has resulted in reduction in the price of power plants and lower capital expenditure. Among other justifications, Mundra Port and SEZ said that since power generation projects have long gestation period, planning for the same is required to be done well in advance. The firm has also proposed to sell power to other SEZs in the region. The BoA will take up proposals for setting up 17 new SEZs, including those of Larsen and Toubro, Emaar MGF and Gulf Oil Corporation. It will also take up request from the realty major DLF for de-notification of their for IT SEZs in Gujarat, Haryana, West Bengal and Orissa. (Financial Express 27/5/09) NEPC to establish Special Economic Zone (4) COIMBATORE: NEPC India Limited is establishing a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) here for nonconventional energy-based products. Rajkumar Khemka, vice-chairman of the NEPC, told The Hindu that the SEZ would come up on 120 acres available with it at Nallurpalayam, 20 km from Palladam. The SEZ was expected to be operational in another six to eight months. NEPC would develop common infrastructure at a cost of Rs. 50 crore. Nearly 15 units involved in renewable energy product manufacturing were expected to set up production facilities at the SEZ, investing over Rs. 4,000 crore. This would generate direct and indirect employment to about 5,000 people. Mr. Khemka said NEPC would also set up its plant to manufacture solar modules at the SEZ. Starting with an initial investment of Rs. 50 crore, it would be investing nearly Rs. 1,000 crore in the next five years and the annual production capacity of the plant would be 250 MW. Describing the SEZ a timely venture, a press release from the company said “The demand for power and the global focus on abatement of green house gas emission encouraged NEPC to go in for the SEZ project for manufacture of products to generate energy from nonconventional energy sources.” (The Hindu 28/5/09) Govt makes SEZs more biz friendly (4) New Delhi: The UPA government has brought in a slew of important changes in its Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy to ensure economic viability of these projects, including permitting units to shift used capital goods into these tax-free enclaves beyond the stipulated valuation limit by forgoing income tax benefits. This move will be a big incentive for units in Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) to move into SEZs as they will now be able to shift expensive items like used servers, broadband facilities and other software, worth over 20% of total new investments they make in an SEZ (which is the current norm) provided they pay income tax on it. But it will help them save a lot on costs in purchasing new ones. IT/ITeS SEZs comprise over 60% of the over 550 approved SEZs and have been badly hit due to the slowdown. Besides, it is not sure if the tax breaks under the STPI scheme will be extended beyond March 2010. As per the existing norms, on every new investment of say Rs 100 crore by the unit, they could shift used capital goods worth Rs 20 crore (or 20% of the new investment) into an SEZ. According to the changed norms, units can shift used capital goods of over 20% of the total new investment into an SEZ, if they forego the income tax benefits. Also, as per the new norms, units can shift used capital goods up to 20% of the total new investment, every time they make such new investment. “This will help the government get more revenue through income tax. It will help the units save on costs. It is also an incentive for the units to invest more in an SEZ,” said Tapan Sangal, senior manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Other significant changes include allowing the development of ‘brown field SEZs’ for the first time (as against the norm of permitting only green field SEZs). This means, subject to the condition that the minimum land requirements are met with (10 hectares for an IT/gems&jewellery SEZ, 100 hecatres for a sector-specific SEZ, and 1000 hectare for a multi-product SEZ), a developer can convert an existing facility like a notified port or a mill that is shut-down into an SEZ provided there is no ongoing economic or commercial activity in that area. This move also settles the debate on the definition of what constitutes a vacant land. (Financial Express 30/5/09)

Jharkhand villagers protest transfer of land to ArcelorMittal (4) Ranchi, May 30, 2009 Villagers in Jharkhand's Khuti and Gumla district are protesting the transfer of government land to steel giant ArcelorMittal for a proposed greenfield project. Villagers, mostly farmers, are protesting under the banner of Adivasi Moolvasi Astitva Raksha Manch (AMARM). ArcelorMittal has identified 11,000 acres of land in Khuti and Gumla districts to set up a 12 million tonne steel plant. "The government has transfered land that belongs to 'gram sabha' (local body) and it has no right to do so. The move to transfer the land is in violation of Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT). Under CNT act tribal land can not be transferred to a non-tribal," AMARM convenor Dayamani Barla told reporters in Ranchi on Saturday. Despite resistance from the villagers to part with their lands, the state government has transferred 1,025 acres of land to the company in Gumla district near the project site, she added. The AMARM has also threatened to move court to oppose the transfer of land. According to official sources, the government had asked ArcelorMittal to deposit Rs 15.55 crore (Rs 155 million) for land acquisition and the company has already given Rs 12.29 crore (Rs 122 million). The company has been allocated coal blocks and iron ore mines in the state. In Jharkhand, nearly half a dozen proposed Greenfield steel projects are facing tough resistance on land acquisition. A government officials said that AMARM is setting up the agitation as the movement against land acquisition may weaken if the company get the government land. "The steel company will get a foothold after getting the government land. The company then can also allure villagers to part with their lands by announcing good compensation package," said an official of the industries department. (Hindustan Times 31/5/09) Board to discuss DLF's SEZ benefits today (4) MUMBAI: According to sources, Raheja Universal had approached the Board of Approval with a proposal to surrender its Navi Mumbai SEZ citing the economic recession in the IT industry. The company has been selling portions of its land bank for the past several months now. Last month, the realty company sold its Wallace Flour Mills property at Mazgaon at a substantial loss following pressure from a private bank to repay part of its hefty loans. In DLF's case, the board in its meeting on Tuesday will consider whether the realty major had benefited from the duty-free benefits offered to SEZs and whether they should be returned to the government. In Maharashtra, 109 SEZs have received a formal go-ahead while another 35 have got in-principle approval so far from the Union ministry of commerce and industry. Incidentally, Maharashtra has the largest number of SEZs in the country. The SEZs which have received approvals by the BoA in Delhi are cases where the developers have got complete possession and ownership of the land to be developed. Six of the approved SEZs are located in Mumbai itself. They are: Hiranandani Builders' 31 acres proposed IT zone at Powai, Royal Palms India's 24 acres (IT) in the heart of Aarey Milk Colony in Goregaon (east) and another 24 acres for a gems and jewellery SEZ in the same region, Chiplun Infrastructure's 99 acres (location not given) for a warehousing zone, Bombay Industrial Corporation's IT SEZ on 30 acres in Mahul and Ferrani Hotels Private Ltd/Ozone Developers' 69 acres for an IT zone in Malad. (Times of India 2/6/09) Govt clears 9 SEZs; most belong to IT/ITES (4) New Delhi: The Government cleared nine fresh proposals for setting up special economic zones, most of which related to IT and ITES, followed by the bio-technology sector. The Board of Approval in the Commerce Ministry gave green signal to Gulf Oil Corporation, L & T, Emaar MGF and MM Tech to set up IT/ITES tax-free enclave in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Chenagamanadu (Kerala), respectively. Three biotechnology SEZs have been sanctioned for Bangalore, Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh) and Ratnagiri (Maharashtra). Besides, two multi-product and multi-services SEZs would come up at Kotamandal in Andhra Pradesh and Nasik in Maharashtra. Since 2006, when the SEZ Act was notified, formal approvals have been granted for setting up 568 SEZs, of which 315 have been notified. Exports from SEZs grew by 36 per cent to Rs 90,416 crore in 2008-09 from Rs 66,638 crore in the previous fiscal. (Financial Express 2/6/09) SC snub to Mumbai SEZ on land acquisition (4) Mumbai: In yet another blow, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the land acquisition process relating to the Mukesh Ambani-promoted Mumbai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Raigad district of Maharashtra. The Mumbai SEZ had sought the stay on the grounds that if the acquisition is not completed by June 6, the entire process will lapse under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. A bench headed by Justice Markandey Katju, while adjourning the matter till June 5, gave liberty to the ministry of

commerce and industry, Maharashtra government and others to file replies in the meantime. FE last week had reported that the notification issued by the state government for land acquisition for the SEZ lapses on June 6. Mumbai SEZ sources declined to comment on the apex court’s order. Mumbai SEZ had earlier approached the Bombay High Court in the same matter. However, the high court had asked the SEZ to move the Supreme Court for direction to the Maharashtra government on expediting land acquisition. The high court granted the SEZ liberty to move the apex court for direction as public interest petitions pertaining to the SEZ are pending before the Supreme Court. Mumbai SEZ had sought the direction from the high court to the state government for a speedy completion of land acquisition by the district administration for its SEZ coming up in Raigad district. The company had argued that two years after the state government issued a declaration of “intention to acquire the land” for the company, the final award had not been made. Mumbai SEZ, a company formed by the Reliance Industries for develop SEZ on 10,000 hectare of land in Raigad district, has been facing a stiff opposition from the locals and various political parties for land acquisition. Mumbai SEZ sources had admitted that it would not be possible for the company to pursue the SEZ project in the absence of land. (Financial Express 3/6/09) New land acquisition policy to be introduced (4) New Delhi June 05, 2009, : President Pratibha Patil today said the government would reintroduce the Amendment Bill to the Land Acquisition Act and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill in the forthcoming budget session of Parliament. If the Bills are enacted, it will not only help in better implementation of infrastructure and industrial projects, but also safeguard the interests of farmers. That is because both the Bills contain clear guidelines to be followed while acquiring land, like compensation package and the quantum of land to be acquired. “It will be our endeavor to have these Bills reintroduced and enacted in the budget session of Parliament,” Patil said in her speech to joint session of the Parliament. Both the Bills were mooted in the backdrop of violent protests across the country in 2007 against acquisition of land by state governments for industrial projects in West Bengal, Haryana, Maharashtra as well as Goa. Many of these projects were related to special economic zones (SEZs). The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill limits the role of the government in land acquisition for private projects. Broadly, this Bill allows government to acquire only 30 per cent of the land for private projects, while the rest will have to be bought by the developer himself. Moreover, land rights will be extended to tenant farmers, artisans and those indirectly drawing sustenance from the land in question. Also, compensation could be in the form of jobs and equity shares in the company that has bought the land. The Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Bill lays down guidelines on how the people affected by projects will have to be rehabilitated and the contours of compensation packages. In addition, this Bill also seeks to set up a National Rehabilitation Commission. Experts point out that delay in enacting both these bills has impacted government projects, especially in infrastructure sector. A recent assessment by the government had revealed that about 60 projects related to the Indian Railways, 20 power plants and 40 road projects were help up due to land related problems. (Business Standard 5/6/09) SC dismisses Mukesh SEZ petition on land acquisition (4) Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the Mukesh Ambani-promoted Mumbai SEZ plea for staying the land acquisition process for its project in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. The notification for the land acquisition issued by the state government lapses on June 8 and hence the company had challenged the Bombay High Court which had asked the Mumbai SEZ on May 22 to move the Supreme Court for expediting land acquisition as various public interest petitions pertaining to the issue were pending before the apex court. A bench headed by Justice B Sudarshan Reddy dismissed the plea of the firm challenging the Bombay High Court interim order that refused to stay the process of land acquisition. However, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Maharashtra government on another plea of Mumbai SEZ seeking transfer of its petition pending before the high court. Even as the Mumbai SEZ declined to comment on the apex court order, there are indications that the Mumbai SEZ may have to start afresh land acquisition process under section 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act as the state government has already announced that there will be no forceful acquisition. Mumbai SEZ, which has acquired few hectare of land of the total requirement of 10,000 hectare by spending around Rs 600 crore, will be necessitated to undergo the stipulated procedure of public hearing if it decides to restart the land acquisition. As reported earlier, the Mumbai SEZ sources informally admitted that it may not be possible to pursue the project without the acquisition of necessary land. The state revenue minister Patangrao Kadam told reporters it was not the state government’s headache to acquire land for the proposed SEZ.

However, he said revenue secretary has been asked to examine the apex court order. Earlier senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, appearing for the MSEZ, sought the stay on the land acquisition proceedings initiated by notifications under Sections 4 and 6 on the grounds that if the acquisition is not completed by June 8, the entire process will lapse under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. A stay would have made the deadline redundant. Side by side, Mumbai SEZ Ltd and its authorised representative Dilipkumar Vitthaldas Dherai also sought a direction to the state government to expedite the land acquisition process for setting up the SEZ in Raigad. Besides, the company sought a direction to the state government to make and publish... (Financial Express 6/6/09) Maha govt fears for SEZs' future (4) MUMBAI: A day after the Mahamumbai SEZ promoters failed to secure relief from the apex court, the Congress-led Democratic Front government has expressed fears that nearly a dozen SEZ projects may never see the light of day following their promoters’ inability to acquire land within the stipulated period. ‘‘Certainly, if the Mahamumbai promoters withdraw from the project, it will have an adverse impact on future investments in Maharashtra and land prices in the entire Konkan belt. According to preliminary reports, seven to eight promoters will have no option but to drop their proposals since they have not acquired the land,’’ a senior industries department official told TOI. On the specific details of the projects in trouble, the official said they involved a total of 11,000 hectares, would have attracted an investment of Rs 20,000 crore and generated ten lakh jobs. India Bulls, Urban Infrastructures, Videocon, Mahindra Realtors and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation are among the companies which are likely to drop their proposals. India Bulls had proposed to set up two separate SEZ projects in Raigad and Thane district, Urban Infrastructures was in the process of setting up an SEZ in Raigad, while Videocon had proposed to set up SEZs in Pune and Aurangabad. (Times of India 7/6/09) ‘Stop land allotments to SEZs’ (4) Patna: Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Monday said the new UPA Government was not addressing the issues of the common man and was instead encouraging the spread of corporate culture. “The issue of subsistence has not been addressed. There is no sign of it on the new government’s agenda,” he told a press conference here. He urged the government to cancel further land allotments for Special Economic Zones and put a stop to all SEZs. Supporting the Women’s Reservation Bill, he said it was high time the measure was passed. The issue had been dragging on for almost 13 years. On the freeing on bail of Binayak Sen, vice-president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, he demanded that the government expedite the release of such political prisoners, and urged that the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act be repealed. (The Hindu 9/6/09) SEZs to raise overseas loans (4) New Delhi: External commercial borrowing (ECB) norms are slated to be liberalised further with the government planning to expand the list of sectors that can raise funds overseas. Among the biggest beneficiaries of the move will be developers of special economic zones (SEZs). RBI has finally agreed to allow SEZs to raise overseas loans under the same guidelines as infrastructure firms—a proposal that it has been resisting since 2006. This is a significant change in stance as the central bank has hitherto treated SEZs as real estate projects. RBI conveyed its altered view to the finance ministry last month, officials said. Funds in the overseas credit market are relatively cheaper than domestic debt. SEZ developers would probably be allowed to raise international funds for any purpose, except the purchase of land, officials said. The proposed relaxation comes as a part of an overall review of ECB policy being carried out by the government to ease the flow of capital into the critical infrastructure sector. The highlevel coordination committee on ECBs—comprising finance secretary Ashok Chawla, an RBI deputy governor and other senior officials—is expected to finalise the new norms this week. “It will give us access to overseas funds and ease the credit constraints faced by developers. Even the eGoM (empowered group of ministers) has recommended this to RBI,” said Export Promotion Council for EOUs & SEZ Units director-general Lalit B Singhal. Last November, the eGoM has suggested to RBI that SEZ developers be allowed to raise up to $500 million in ECBs annually. The eGoM, chaired by Pranab Mukherjee, who is currently the finance minister, had also asked RBI to treat SEZs as infrastructure projects rather than real estate projects. The real estate tag assigned by RBI bars SEZ developers from raising ECBs, while raising the risk weight assigned by banks on loans to them. However, units based in

these zones are permitted to raise overseas loans. “It is broadly consistent with having SEZs that are export oriented. Now raising funds abroad will be easy since there is lot of global liquidity. But the question is, at what price,” said a leading economist, who asked not to be named. The Ashok Chawla-led committee, which meets this week, has also debated the issue of allowing infrastructure firms to replace their rupee loans with foreign debt as a temporary measure. This was seen as appropriate in light of the bloated borrowing programme of the government, which could crowd... (Financial Express 9/6/09) Gopalpur land losers revive demand for return of land (4) Berhampur June 10, 2009, The people, who lost their land to the Tata Steel’s jinxed steel project at Gopalpur in Ganjam district in mid 90s, want back their land, which is lying idle for over a decade following the shelving of the project. As many as 696 families were displaced from five villages (Sindhigaon, Badapur, Patrapur, Kalipali and Paikapada) and another 1500 families of 12 villages gave up their land to make way for the project. The company had acquired 3,800 acres of private land for this proposed shore-based steel project which envisaged 10 million tonne of steel capacity when fully completed. “We gave up our land with a hope to see the project come up. But the company shelved it. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the company and the state government has lost its effect from August 28, 2001”, said a displaced person. The MoU for the project was signed on August 28, 1995. “As the MoU has lost its relevance, the government should return the land to the landlosers” said Ramesh Gouda, a project affected farmer. “We have submitted memoranda to the revenue divisional commissioner (RDC), southern division and the district collector urging them to return our land” said Babuli Sahu, another affected person. It may be noted, Tata Steel proposed to set up a galvanize plant and multi-purpose Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to utilize the acquired land. However, no substantial progress has been made on this front too. Meanwhile, the project affected villagers pinned their hope on the newly elected legislature from Gopalpur to get their land back. Interestngly, the newly elected MLA from Gopalpur, Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi, belonging to ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), figured among the project affected persons. A resident of Patrapur village, Panigrahi’s family lost about 30 acres of fertile cultivable and homestead land to the project and received compensation for the same. “Like us, the newly elected MLA of Gopalpur is also a project affected person and we hope he will fight for the justice” Gouda said. Sharing the people’s concern, Panigrahi assured to make their voice heard at the corridors of power. “My first priority is to ensure best use of the land, which is lying idle for over a decade” he said. Due to this, the economy of the district has suffered much, he added. “I will urge the government to pursue the Tata company to set up its original project or utilize the land in some other manner” he said. Panigrahi, incidentally, supported the Tata Steel’s project when it was facing opposition in mid 90s and had voluntarily handed over his lands and moved out of his ancestral village along with his family to set an example for others to facilitate setting up of the mega steel plant. “If Tata is not interested, let the company leave the area” the young legislature said. There are several other companies who are keen to utilize the land to set up different projects”, he said…… (Business standard 10/6/09) Govt plans to formulate new rules for de-notification of SEZs (4) New Delhi: The government is looking into formulating new rules for de-notification of special economic zones in the wake of several developers, including realty major DLF, approaching the commerce ministry for surrendering their tax-free enclaves. “The Department of Commerce will .... propose suitable provisions in the Act/Rules for denotifying SEZ,” a source said. The department of revenue told the Board of Approval, which took up the request of DLF for de-notification of its four SEZs, that “there is no such provision in SEZ scheme for de-notification of SEZ even if the developer has undertaken to pay back of duty benefit taken and that Board may like to decide the issue accordingly,” a source said. However, the ministry of Law opined that though there is no specific provision in the SEZ Act and Rules, the power to notify includes power to de-notify also, sources said. Industry experts said that the SEZs which are finding it difficult to continue should be allowed to quit. As there are no specific provisions for de-notifying SEZs in the SEZ Act 2005, so suitable provisions should be made, sources added. The BoA headed by Commerce Secretary G K Pillai had, however, given in-principal nod to DLF for de-notification of its ITITeS tax-free zones in Gujarat, Haryana, Orissa and West Bengal. The government will formally denotify the SEZs only after the developer return benefits including customs, excise, income tax that have been availed by it. So far, 568 formal approvals have been granted for setting up SEZs, out of which 315 have been notified. Total export from SEZs stood at Rs 99,689 crore in 2008-09, a growth of about 50% over the previous fiscal. (Financial Express 10/6/09)

HC asks Bengal government if it had paid compensation to Nandigram victims (4) Kolkata, Jun 15 : Calcutta High Court today asked the West Bengal government if it had paid compensation to the injured and rape victims in Nandigram as ordered by the court. Admitting a writ petition by the injured and the rape victims, the two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice S S Nijjar, directed the government to tell the court about the initiatives taken in this regard by the first week of August. In November 2007, the court ordered the government to pay Rs five lakh each to the families of the people killed during the March 14, 2007, police firing incident, Rs two lakh to each rape victim and one lakh to the injured. According to the petitioner, the government had only paid Rs five lakh to the relatives of 14 people so far killed in police firings on March 14, 2007. The state government is, however, yet to pay compensation to the rape victims and the injured. The prosecution said 164 people were injured in the incident and three women were raped in Nandigram during a series of incidents that followed the police firings. (New Kerala 16/6/09) Nokia SEZ got sops worth Rs 645 cr (4) CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government granted financial sops worth Rs 645.4 crore for Nokia Telecom Special Economic Zone by offering to reimburse the Value Added Tax (VAT) and cutting the price of land, says a report based on information obtained through Right to Information Act. “The special agreement between Nokia and Tamil Nadu government signed in 2005 for the SEZ located in Sriperumbudur, Kancheepuram ensures that the government will refund VAT on domestic sales to the value of Nokia’s investments in infrastructure,” a Citizens’ Research Collective’s report titled - The Public Price of Success: The costs of the Nokia Telecom SEZ in Chennai for the government and workers, says. The reports says “the MoU reveals that the State government offered an added fiscal incentive to Nokia by offering to reimburse the VAT paid by the company with a condition that it would not ‘cumulatively exceed the investment made by Nokia in eligible fixed assets within three years of signing of MoU.” “This adds up to approximately Rs 638 crore that the State government would have reimbursed to Nokia for its investments in fixed assets, thereby in effect paying for Nokia’s infrastructure investments,” the report added. The VAT reimbursement indicates that Nokia had planned to sell most of its phones in the Indian market and not for export since VAT is only applicable when a product is sold within India. Further, the TN government cut the price of land by half and assured the company that “no other state/municipal levies would be applicable on purchases/sales made by units within SEZ”, the report said. This resulted in a loss of Rs 7.4 crore for the State Industrial Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu, as per a 2007 report by the Comptroller Auditor General, the report says. The MoU also exempted Nokia from paying stamp duty on the land which was earlier set to four per cent of land value or Rs 38 lakh. Furthermore, it allowed Nokia to sublet the land at a higher price. A number of anti-labour clauses were also offered by the TN government to Nokia. Frequent use of contract labour and low wages ranging from Rs 3,400 to Rs 5,400 have also been found. The report also reveals 45-fold difference in salaries between Nokia global staff and workers in its India plant (Express Buzz 20/6/09) Slowdown puts SEZs in freezer (4) Bangalore: The economic slowdown has halted the great rush to establish special economic zones (SEZ) in the state. Many companies, after in-principle approval, are not coming forward to ask the government to notify the setting up of their respective SEZs. Formal approval has been given to 50 SEZs, which are expected to occupy nearly 3,000 hectares of land in the state. Of these, only 27 have been notified. Interestingly, 23 units were notified earlier, at the commencement of the economic slowdown. "Only a couple of companies got notified after October. The recession effect is being felt in the sector to a great extent. Overall, the great rush for formal approval has come down,'' an official in the industries and commerce department said. Besides the slowdown, persistent land acquisition problems have forced developers to think twice on moving their proposals for issuing notifications. While only three developers have sought notification in recent times, fortunately for the state's investment, none have sought denotification, unlike in other states. Even fresh proposals have drastically come down. It is said only three SEZ proposals have been lined up before the state high level clearance committee (SHLCC) headed by the chief minister. The meeting is expected to take place next week. To stand in the league of industrially advanced states like Andhra Pradesh; Tamil Nadu; Gujarat and Maharashtra, Karnataka, though late, unveiled its much-awaited SEZ policy recently. The absence of a strong SEZ policy in the state was seen

as a shortfall in achieving the intended objectives in the sector. The policy, in accordance with rule 5(5) of the Centre's Special Economic Zone Rules 2006, extends a slew of benefits and incentives like exemption of stamp duty and registration fees for registration of land for investors in SEZ units. On the problems faced by developers in land acquisition, large and medium scale industries minister Murugesh R Nirani said: "Consent acquisition from farmers would be the criteria for land acquisition for SEZs. The state will not interfere in the acquisition process, further, 20% of the developed land will be given to farmers, besides employment to one of its family members,'' he added. The all-India front suggests that after enactment of the SEZ Act and Rules in 2006, 568 formal approvals have been granted and 315 SEZs notified by the Centre. (Times of India 23/6/09) SEZ developer allowed to raise money via ECB (4) NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE: In a boost to SEZ developers, the government today allowed them to raise money through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) to provide infrastructure facilities in these zones. These developers, however, cannot use this money to develop integrated townships and commercial real estate within the SEZ, according to a statement issued by the finance ministry. But for realty firms outside SEZ, the finance ministry extended the use of ECBs for developing integrated township for another six months till December. The minimum area to be developed should be 100 acres. “On a review, it has been decided to allow SEZ developers to avail of ECB under the approval route for providing infrastructure facilities,” the statement said. Infrastructure, as per ECB norms, include power, telecom, railways, road including bridges, ports, industrial parks and urban infrastructure like water supply, sanitation and sewage projects, mining refining and exploration. “This is a step forward at least for development of infrastructure for industries in the SEZ. There were mainly two issues with the SEZ. One was ECB funding and that has been taken care of. The other issue is lending to the SEZ as infrastructure. I expect that will also be taken care of,” said Mr LB Singhal, director general, Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs. The ministry, however, retained the norm that firms could not raise more than $500 million through ECB under automatic route. The government, as part of the Export-Import Policy 2002-07, had allowed the SEZ developers to raise ECBs up to $500 million for maturities of less than three years. The permission, however, was not renewed. Facing credit crunch, several SEZ developers are demanding de-notification of their tax-free enclaves or seeking more time to complete them. (Statesman 1/7/09) How to make the SEZ scheme more attractive (4) Chennai: While it may be urgent for the IT sector that the Government announces an extension of the tax holiday under the Income Tax Act, 1961 beyond March 31, 2010, to help in mitigating the impact of the economic slowdown and maintaining the competitive edge of this sector, it will be beneficial to the industry if the tax holiday is extended by a block of 2-3 years as compared to piecemeal extension, says Naveen Aggarwal, Executive Director, ICE Tax, KPMG. This will give enough room to the players in the industry to plan their business and would attract long-term investments, he explains, during a pre-Budget interaction. “Even if the government wants to bring this sector in the tax net, it would be worthwhile to do so in a phased manner. A sudden climb in the tax rate from 11.33 per cent (at present applicable under MAT) to 33.99 per cent may be too steep for the industry to bear.” The income-tax holiday has been one the industry’s saviour over the years and has played a pivotal role in its success, and one of the sectors that has been worst affected in India by the global recession is the IT/ITES sector, Aggarwal observes. “This sector has perhaps been one of the biggest success stories in India post the economic reforms of 1991. While a lot of credit for the success of this sector goes to the technical brilliance and the entrepreneurial spirit of a young, ambitious India, eager to take on the world, the Government policies have also played a key role in catalysing its growth.” Relaxation on use of old plant and machinery: To make the SEZ scheme more attractive, the Government should consider relaxing the existing stringent conditions for transition of STP/ EOU units to SEZs. It is suggested that the limit of 20 per cent for transfer of used machinery or plant to the new SEZ unit be increased to 40 per cent. This would grant some flexibility to the industry while preserving the intention of law, in the sense that the majority of the total machinery or plant used in the SEZ unit would still be new. Government SEZs: In the current scenario, SEZs are not a commercially viable option for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), as the minimum space available and investment required in the SEZ are substantially high. As a result, these SMEs are largely deprived of the benefits of the SEZs. In order to address this issue the Government may consider setting up SEZs developed/ operated by it that allow SMEs to acquire space and invest as per their requirements. Alternatively, the Government may introduce regulations that make it mandatory

for the private SEZ developers to reserve a certain portion of their SEZ space exclusively for SMEs. Formula anomaly: As per recent news articles, the matter of formula anomaly under section 10AA of the Act is reportedly taken care of. Relevant legislative amendments need to be carried out as soon as possible to avoid confusion on this issue. Refund of taxes and duties: The industry looks forward to expeditious disposal and simplification in the procedures for claiming refund of service tax paid on input services. Alternative schemes such as fixing drawback rates may be introduced which would help in simplifying the procedures. Applicability of service-tax and VAT: At present both service-tax and VAT are being charged by the tax authorities on development and sale of software in India. It is essential that this controversial issue of dual taxation is resolved at the earliest. Refund of additional customs duty to countervail VAT: Credit/ refund of additional custom duties paid on imports is available to manufacturers/ traders. This benefit is not available to service providers. Extension of such provisions to service companies would be a welcome move. While the IT/ITES industry is at the crossroads, awaiting the Budget with bated breath, the present adversity still holds a few opportunities. As some of the biggest companies in the West battle for survival, outsourcing is one of the best ways in which they can achieve further economies in these challenging times. However, in order to help the industry exploit this situation to its advantage, the Government must play its part and fulfil the industry’s wish list. It’s over to the Finance Minister. (The Hindu 2/7/09) Nagaland to have 2 SEZs (4) Kohima, July 3: The Centre will set up two special economic zones in Nagaland — a multi-product SEZ and another on agro food processing. Chief minister Neiphiu Rio urged the department of industries and commerce to gear up for the success of these two ventures, saying that it would change the social and economic landscape of the state. He said the time had come to think collectively to usher in development in the state and called for a change in mindsets and attitudes. Speaking at the inaugural function of the new directorate office building of the industries and commerce department here yesterday afternoon, Rio said his government’s focus on infrastructure development had led to significant changes in the landscape of the state in just a few years. “Everyone should make conscious efforts to maintain these infrastructural assets. The state possesses vast untapped natural resources and the government is thinking of capitalising on the assets to improve the living condition of the people,” he added. Rio called upon the youths to avail the opportunity provided by the government and take up self-employment and entrepreneurship schemes. He said Industrial, Green and White revolutions were yet to make a mark in the state and urged them to come forward and make a difference. He stressed on identifying and making best use of locally available raw materials and on quality control. Minister for urban development and higher education Shürhozelie Liezietsu also stressed on the need for industrial revolution, exploring the natural resources of the state and co-ordination between departments. (Telegraph 4/7/09) Delhi to ease land acquisition for industry (4) India will introduce legislation in parliament this week to ease the acquisition of land for infrastructure development and industrial use in a country that suffers severe food insecurity, a senior cabinet minister has said. Kamal Nath, minister of road transport and highways, said land acquisition was one of the most vexed problems in the industrialisation of Asia’s third largest economy. Large industrial projects and special economic zones have repeatedly run aground over land disputes as policymakers try to diversify a traditional agrarian economy. Government and private sector purchases have been strongly opposed by the rural poor, who view them as land grabs deepening their deprivation. In one of the most highprofile disputes, Tata Motors was forced last year to move its plant for the Nano, touted as the world’s cheapest car, from West Bengal to Gujarat after a political showdown over compensation for farmers. Posco, the South Korean steel producer, has also run into serious difficulties trying to build a plant in Orissa. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Nath said India would urgently address land purchase by offering fair market prices and compensating farmers for use of land, as well as its formal ownership. He complained that land was frequently acquired and then never developed. “The government must build up credibility in land acquisition. You can’t have industry, roads, ports, airports without land. But where the government acquires land it must pay a fair compensation which is the market price,” said Mr Nath. “There has to be a formulation – which we have worked out now – that takes care of beneficial owners also, those without title.” The “model legislation” would also seek to impose forfeiture of land acquired for industrial use and not developed within about four years. Mr Nath, formerly commerce and industry minister, identified the dense populations in the states of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana as presenting the

toughest land acquisition challenges. But he blamed some of the worst policy blunders on state governments in Maharashtra and West Bengal. The Maharashtra Development Agency acquired thousands of acres of land, only to fail to attract industrial development, he claimed. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, chief minister of West Bengal, had spurned Mr Nath’s warnings over the pitfalls of fasttrack economic development. “You’ve got to do [industrial development] absolutely in partnership [with the local people]. We saw what happened in [at the chemical hub project in] Nandigram, and in the SEZ project. I told the chief minister [of West Bengal]: ‘Don’t do this. People are not with you in this.’ “But he went ahead to do it and got into a lot of mess in the SEZ and then in the Nano project,” said Mr Nath. The Congress party-led government is hoping to amend the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act. It had failed to pass the new legislation before the end of last parliamentary session. (Financial Times 5/7/09) Loyalty switch: Rural bodies in a spot (4) NANDIGRAM: Seventy-three of the 128 CPM members of the 11 gram panchayats spread over Khejuri I and II blocks have resigned over the past fortnight while the remaining 55 have fled their homes. This has rendered these panchayats, with 163 members, virtually defunct. East Midnapore district magistrate Choten D Lama said immediate byelections are necessary to resolve the problem. The district magistrate said he had received complaints that some of those who had resigned had done so under coercion. "These complaints are being probed. By-elections will be held to fill 73 seats if these complaints are found untrue," he said. The government and the state election commission have been informed about these resignations and the inquiry. (Times of India 5/7/09) Call for separate rehabilitation policy for project-hit people (4) CHENNAI: With many large industrial projects coming up in the State, the government should frame a separate rehabilitation and resettlement policy for persons displaced by them, according to D. Ravikumar, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) MLA. Mr. Ravikumar, in a letter to Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, has requested him to set up a committee to discuss the issue when the demands for Industries are taken up in the Assembly [on July 13]. Speaking to The Hindu , he says, “The National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement of 2007 does not take into account many regional variations. Since there are many specific issues affecting the Tamil Nadu people, the government should frame a separate policy taking into account local factors.” While the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament soon, Mr. Ravikumar says that Tamil Nadu should adopt its own policy as Jharkhand has done. “The valuations of different kinds of land and the standard of living vary from State to State. Neyveli and Narmada cannot be treated in the same manner.” With State the policy directed towards setting up of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and mega industrial projects, rehabilitation and resettlement policy is urgently required, says V. Suresh, state president, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). “Urbanisation has caused a large-scale migration. The current economic policies make it imperative for a clear-cut policy to deal with natural and man-made displacements,” Dr. Suresh says. While a nation-wide law would be ideal, the States should frame their own rules based on the immediate needs of the people affected, he says.(The Hindu 6/7/09) Punjab becomes sixth state to have SEZ Act (4) Chandigarh, July 11, 2009: Punjab on Saturday became the sixth state in the country to put in place its own Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act, with the passing of Punjab Special Economic Zones Bill 2009 by the state assembly in Chandigarh. "Now the grant of concessions will get a legal status with the enactment of Punjab SEZ Act and the development of SEZ projects will be accelerated," State Industry and Commerce Minister Manoranjan Kalia said. Even after the implementation of SEZ Act 2005 by the Centre, the exemptions like sales tax, VAT etc were either not provided or delayed by concerned departments as there were no enabling provisions in the framework, Kalia said. Earlier, Haryana, Gujrat, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have enacted their own SEZ Acts. Elaborating upon the benefits to be provided by the state SEZ Act, Kalia said that SEZ developer would be exempted from payment of stamp duty, registration fee and social security cess on the purchase of land. This exemption would be available even on the first transfer or lease of immovable property within SEZ for industrial, commercial and residential purposes whereas such exemption in Gujrat and Maharashtra are meant for industrial use in SEZ, he added. (Hindustan Times 11/7/09) Bengal softens stand on land for railway projects (4)

Kolkata : The Left Front government in West Bengal will go extra miles to make land available for new railway projects in the state. Abdur Rezzak Molla, the minister in charge of land and land reforms, said in the state Assembly today that if the railways sought land for the projects the government would ‘organise’ the same on a priority basis. It is significant that Molla has avoided using the term ‘acquisition’, and instead said the government would ‘organise’ land. Partha Chatterjee, the Opposition leader in the House, welcomed the announcement made by Rezzak Molla. Later, Molla hinted that if needed the government might go for outright purchase of land for railway and other development projects. In the recent Railway Budget, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced many new projects for West Bengal. Though she had claimed that the railways would not acquire land from the farmers and that most of the projects would be carried out using the surplus railway land, the railways might need some additional land. More importantly, the additional land will be needed for the freight corridor, which would be extended up to Dankuni from Bihar, and the proposed 1,000 Mw thermal power project in Purulia. By offering an olive branch on making land available for the proposed projects, the Left Front government also wanted to show that it would not be outmaneuvered by Banerjee on the issue of the state’s development. After burning its fingers in Singur and Nandigram, the state government is now averse to any move which involves acquisition of farmland. Replying to the debate on his department’s budget, Molla today assured that while his department was responsible for creating a land bank for the future investment in the state, he would take no steps which hurt farmers’ interests. The Department of Land and Land Reforms has already taken up the task of creating a land bank for possible use by the investors in setting up new industry there. For that a satellite mapping process has been started in 72 blocks consisting of districts like West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura, and part of Burdwan and Birbhum. Unlike wetlands of Singur and Nandigram, which usually have multi-crop farming, this time the government is trying to identify land for industry in relatively arid zones. The minister said priority would be given to fallow land, and if necessary single crop land. But the government would surely take farmers’ consent before going for land procurement. The investors, who would like to set up industry in the state, will be offered to buy land from this land bank. The mechanism of buying land from the state will be administered through the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. With an oblique reference to how Tatas were offered land in Singur for their Nano car unit, Molla cautioned that no investor would have the freedom to demand land in highly congested and fertile areas. (Business Standard 11/7/09) Assocham delegation to visit Japan to attract investment in SEZ (4) New Delhi (PTI) Industry body Assocham along with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will lead a 40-member business delegation comprising representatives from Videocon, JSW Steel, SAIL and others to Japan to attract investments to India's Special Economic Zones (SEZs). "The members of Indian delegation led by Assocham President Sajjan Jindal would interact with Japanese businessmen and appraise them to take advantage of sprawling SEZs facility in India," the chamber said. The delegation, which would leave for Japan on July 26, would be seeking investment in power equipment, steel value addition, environment technology, capital goods machinery, construction work, R&D, engineering and automation, it said. Business meetings aimed at building partnerships to make India’s SEZs a preferred destination for Japanese investments have been planned at Tokyo, Osaka and Yakohoma, it said. "Indian delegates and Japanese businessmen ... feel elated and hopeful for concluding business tie ups as both the sides are getting right and desired opportunity to beat the recession," the chamber said. Companies which would be a part of the delegation include Videocon, JSW Steel, Sri City, SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam and Patni Computers. Export promotion council for SEZs and Export Oriented Units (EOUs) would also be a part of the delegation, the chamber said. Of the total 576 formal approvals for setting up SEZs in the country, 319 have been notified. (The Hindu 14/7/09) SEZs attract more than Rs 10,900 cr FDI in 3 years (4) NEW DELHI: The country's special economic zones have attracted foreign direct investment of over Rs 10,900 crore in the last three years, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday. "According to the readily available information, the total foreign direct investment in SEZs is to the tune of Rs 10,983 crore," Scindia said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. He said the impact of economic meltdown on the performance of SEZs cannot generally be ruled out. However, export from the SEZ during the financial year 2008-09 has been to the tune of Rs 99,689 crore registering 50 per cent growth over the year-ago period. Asked if the government has resolved the issues of agitating farmers whose land was acquired for setting up SEZs, he said, "The state governments have been advised that in

case of land acquisition for SEZs, first priority should be given for acquisition of waste and barren land and if necessary single crop agricultural land." Since 2006, when the SEZ Act was notified, formal approvals were granted for setting up 568 SEZs, of which 315 have been notified. (Economic Times 15/7/09) West Bengal formulating improved rehabilitation policy (4) Kolkata (PTI): With the Singur and Nandigram land acquisition controversies being seen as one of the reasons for the Left parties' Lok Sabha poll debacle, the West Bengal government on Tuesday said it was currently working on formulating an improved rehabilitation and compensation policy for the displaced due to industrial projects. The new rehabilitation and compensation policy, which would take care of the interests of the farming community, share-croppers, wage earners and owners of agricultural land, would be placed in the state assembly after being given final shape, state Industry Minister Nirupam Sen, who moved the budgetary demands for grants for his department in the assembly, said. "Land being a crucial input for prospective investors for locating their units in the state, the state government has to address the issue taking into consideration all relevant issues," he said, He said that while the state government was not averse to direct purchase of land by entrepreneurs themselves for setting up their units, "it cannot necessarily allow landowners/farmers and those dependent on land to be at the mercy of middleman and land sharks".He said it was necessary in larger public interest to have state intervention where a very large quantum of land was involved for setting up of any industrial unit. He said that when the state government quickened the land acquisition process for big industrial houses, it was blamed by the Opposition for being in an undue hurry. However, if the state government was slow in land acquisition for industries, it was accused by the Opposition of not performing well in the industrial regeneration of the state. He said that Tata Metaliks expansion project at Kharagpur could not take off since the state failed to provide land to them on time. After waiting for four years, the management ultimately shifted the project to Bangalore. He, however, said the state government was determined to pursue its pro-active policy for faster industrial development. He said that exit of the Tata Motor Nano car project from the state at a time when it was all set to bring impetus to its growing automobile and engineering sector in the context of global demand had a regressive effect. Replying to the debate on the budget, the minister said that it was awaiting environmental clearance from the Centre for the proposed Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) at Nayachar near Haldia. Though the Union Cabinet has approved the PCPIR at Nayachar near Haldia till it was giving approval to the detailed environmental assessment which was submitted to it by the state government, the work for the project cannot begin. He admitted the Opposition criticism that there was absence of proper co-ordination among different state government departments leading to the delay in procedural matters and the related things in setting up industries in the state. The Leader of Opposition and Trinamool Congress leader, Partha Chatterjee, demanded a white paper on the number of projects that had come up since 1999 cleared by the state government, the amount of investment involved and the number of people getting employment. (The Hindu 15/7/09) Six SEZs de-notified (14) New Delhi, : The Government on Wednesday said it had received de-notification request from seven SEZ developers out of which six have been approved by the Board of Approval. “The de-notification has been allowed subject to refund of fiscal benefits availed by the developers,” Mr Anand Sharma, Commerce and Industry Minister, said in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. In a related question on SEZs, Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State of Commerce and Industry, sa id seven Central Government SEZs and 12 State/private SEZs were set up before the enactment of the SEZ Act. Formal approval has been accorded to 578 proposals, of which 323 SEZs have been notified. “An investment of Rs 1,08,903 crore has been made and direct employment for 3.8 lakh persons has been generated in SEZs. Total exports of Rs 99,689 crore have been made from SEZs during the fiscal 2008-09, registering a growth of over 50 per cent over the previous year,” he said. (Business Line 16/7/09) Trials of land acquisition and rehabilitation (4) New Delhi, July 16, 2009: The passing of the Land Acquisition Bill in the coming Lok Sabha session will lead to more Singurs and Nandigrams, predicted activist Medha Patkar in New Delhi on Wednesday. Patkar was addressing a press conference on behalf of the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), which is a coalition organisation that is working "to bring the struggle for a people-oriented

development model to the centre stage of politics and public life." Medha Patkar pointed out that NAPM had drafted a policy note in 2006 to amend the present Land Acquisition Act (1894) and presented it to Sonia Gandhi who, at that time, was heading the National Advisory Commission. She assured NAPM that the bill to amend the Land Acquisition Act would be based on this policy note. But, in 2007, Lok Sabha passed the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, which was entirely different from the policy note approved by Sonia Gandhi. NAPM is primarily demanding that the present Land Acquisition Bill (2007) be scrapped and a new bill based on the policy note be drafted. NAPM also proposed that there should be a national debate involving Sonia Gandhi and the National Advisory Committee regarding the bill. Secondly, two reports of the standby committee have come through so the issue should go to a Joint Parliamentary Committee to be reviewed. And thirdly, there should be discussions about what to do about those people who have already been displaced as in - Narmada, SEZs and Maharashtra. Gumman Singh of the Himalaya Niti Abhiyan related how after the construction of the Bhakra Nagal Dam, 40, 000 people were displaced, but they were never rehabilitated. Same is the case with the Pong Dam, where 18, 000 people were never resettled. "Places where less than 200 families have been displaced in hilly areas and 400 families in plain, the government has kept them outside the purview of rehabilitation citing that their numbers are too small," said Gumman Singh adding that there have been no rehabilitation in case of the hydro projects in Himachal Pradesh. "Himachal Pradesh is providing electricity to you but what about us?" he questioned. In New Delhi, about 200 factories were shut down because of environmental concerns in the past. Now instead of acquiring more farmland to set up new factories, these can be set up where the closed down factories were, suggested Bhupender Singh Rawat one of the NAPM speakers at the conference. Rajendra Ravi, another activist, pointed out that 56, 000 people were displaced in name of cleaning the Yamuna but in fact, the land was given over to build the Akshardham Temple. And while Delhi Metro proclaims to be a role model of development it actually has contributed a great deal to Yamuna's pollution. "On one hand there's no land for the city poor, on the other, lands of factories that have closed down are turning into shopping malls," he said. Ashok Chaudhry, another speaker, questioned the very legitimacy of the government usurping land from people. "The government claims of minimum displacement and maximum rehabilitation is a farce," he said adding, "The government has no right to take land from anyone." Can we really believe in rehabilitation given the government's track record of the past 60 years, Medha Patkar asked, when farmers and forest dwellers are not even mentioned in the compensation schemes in the bill. "The bill, in terms of rehabilitation, says that the poor will only [get land] if government has [any to give]. This is atrocious when corporations can get land anywhere," said Medha Patkar. Both the Land Acquisition Bill and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill were passed without any hindrance in the Lok Sabha in 2007. It was only in the Rajya Sabha that they were rejected. This monsoon session, activists fear that the bill will be passed in both Houses of Parliament. "We feel that the Bill[s] [are] getting passed because the government is under pressure from the corporations," Patkar said. NAPM believes that government should look into pre-displacement rehabilitation and it should make sure that the acquired land is truly being used for public purpose and not something like a foreign university as in case of Vedanta University, Orissa. Patkar also said, "If it is for truly public purpose like a school or a hospital then we do not oppose it." (Hindustan Times 16/7/09) SEZ developers get stamp duty waiver (4) NEW DELHI: Developers of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will get a blanket exemption from stamp duty on land purchases within the notified area for non-core activities such as building hotels, housing complexes, shopping malls and golf courses, according to a government official. The exemption had become a contentious issue with states, where these projects are located, demanding that it be restricted to core manufacturing areas, which has to cover at least 50% of the total SEZ land. The government has extended this to cover the whole area and has issued guidelines detailing circumstances in which the sop can be availed of, said the official, asking not to be named. For the developers of the 500-odd SEZs slated to bring in investments of over Rs 1 lakh crore, this ends the uncertainty that had cropped up after some states had voiced their opposition. Orissa had objected to the Centre giving such a tax sop without consulting states and had termed the move as ultra vires. It had pointed out that while the Centre had powers to legislate on stamp duty, the power to fix rates of the duty lay with the states. This had forced the commerce department to seek law ministry’s opinion on the provision in the SEZ Act. As per the new guidelines, the facility of stamp duty exemption on purchase of land by a SEZ developer for activities such as housing, hostel, recreation and entertainment would be available only with respect to land that falls within the SEZ area. However, any facility will not be available outside the zone. Moreover, stamp duty

exemption will be applicable on sale or lease of land to units or entities permitted to carry out operations within SEZ.The exemption, however will be available only after formal approval of the zone. For the propose of land bought before formal approval, but after in-principle approval, the state government may either give the exemption of stamp duty upfront or collect the duty and refund it after the zone has been set up. If under some circumstances, notification of a zone is cancelled, a state government will be entitled to withdraw the concession of stamp duty and recover the same from developer. (Economic Times 17/7/09) The battles are same...Narmada, Nandigram, Lalgarh: Medha Patkar (4) New Delhi, July 17 : There is no end to the struggle to save pieces of 'our land and the people who live on them, own them and till them', says social activist and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) pioneer Medha Patkar. 'It is all the same...Narmada, Singur, Nandigram and Lalgarh. The police come in khaki uniform, commit excesses and people suffer. But when it happened in Bengal, I found it difficult to believe. This cannot be possible in a state ruled by the Left Front government, I thought,' Patkar, 54, who has helped set up the National Alliance of People's Movement, told IANS. 'There is no progress in India, only loot being perpetuated in the name of progress. There is still so much happening in the Narmada Valley now,' said Patkar, who became a known face in the late 1980s while spearheading the NBA's movement against big dams along the Narmada river. Based in Indore, Patkar was in the Lalgarh area of West Bengal recently to take stock of the situation. A tribal body supported by Maoists had made the area out of bounds for the state administration to protest police excesses, but the government's presence has been re-established there with the help of security forces. 'They call it a Naxal problem, but actually it's the people who are struggling for survival,' said Patkar, an award-winning activist, clad in a green cotton sari. The social activist was in the capital for a day to launch a book titled, 'Nandigram Diaries', which chronicles the people's movement in Nandigram through the eyes of journalist Pushpraj, associated with the NBA. Nandigram, again in West Bengal, was in the eye of a storm in the last two years after people protested the acquisition of farmland for industry and faced the might of the state. Patkar said, 'For me the people of Nandigram who suffered - the women who were raped, the men who either fell to police bullets or were arrested or disappeared and the children who were rendered homeless - are more important. They are the ones I remember. 'I played a very small part in their struggle. The badges that the women wore were badges of blood. Had one fact-finding team reached there the moment when the struggle was on, things would have been different,' Patkar said. For Patkar, the enduring symbols of Nandigram where the activist was held by police and went on a hunger strike for two days in November 2007 in protest, 'will always be the raped housewife and crusader Radharani, a missing young activist Aditya Bera and some women from a village called Sonachura who have been abused for daring to protest'. Radharani Ari, a housewife from Gokulnagar village in Nandigram, who was at the forefront of the struggle at Nandigram, was allegedly gangraped twice by goons backed by the Left Front in her own house. She was last attacked in April 2008. Aditya Bera, a young activist who was beaten up and shot in Nandigram, is still missing. The women in Sonachura were allegedly raped and hospitalised. 'The battle for the Left Front started at Nandigram long before the elections. The recent Lok Sabha verdict shows just how it alienated itself from the people over Nandigram. I remember going to Bengal Minister Nirupam Sen with a report by Mahasweta Devi and Justice Moloy Sengupta, and he had retorted,'Do you think without the neo-liberal paradigm, development is possible in West Bengal?''Even now, more than 50 homes are still ravaged in the battle ground of Nandigram,' she said. The human tragedy, however, can never be gauged in terms of numbers, she said. 'The cases in the Supreme Court have not progressed. The rape victims have yet to be compensated. The psychological scars of women who have been raped can never heal. Their relationship with their husbands have been strained forever,' she said. (New Kerala 17/7/09) Do not take away our land: society (4) Bangalore: Members of Sumanahalli Society — the rehabilitation centre for those affected by leprosy, HIV and disabilities as well as street children, juvenile delinquents and orphans — are shocked over State Government’s decision to withdraw the land allotted to the society in 1977. At a meeting held on Friday to discuss strategies to deal with the issue, the members, led by their Director Fr. George Kannanthanam, termed the decision as an “injustice to the deprived section of society”. Sumanahalli had its beginnings in 1978. It all started with a request by the then Chief Minister of Karnataka to the Archbishop of Bangalore, offering Government land to establish an organisation that would help treat and rehabilitate the leprosyafflicted in and around Bangalore. Several benevolent and caring individuals and organisations took up

the challenge to create and nurture the society. Sumanahalli is now an example of what collaborative activity and voluntary participation can accomplish. And not just for those afflicted by Leprosy but also HIV, the disabled and the destitute. (The Hindu 18/7/09) Andolan Express between Singur, Howrah from August 1 (4) KOLKATA: Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said ‘Andolan Express,’ a train between Singur and Howrah, will run from August 1 — a significant announcement considering the movement she led against the alleged forcible acquisition of farmland for industry at Singur was repeatedly referred to during her party’s Lok Sabha election campaign. Much of last year saw a prolonged agitation that was launched in 2007 by a section of local farmers at Singur, which finally led to Tata Motors deciding to relocate its proposed small car Nano project to Gujarat. In the Railway budget speech earlier this month, Ms. Banerjee also proposed that Singur be one of the 375 stations to be developed as an ‘Adarsh’ (model) station this year. Speaking at the inauguration of a computerised railway reservation centre at New Alipore station here, Ms. Banerjee expressed concerns about price rise, and said that at a time when life for the masses was becoming difficult, the railways were decentralising its facilities for their benefit. “The Railways will open 1,000 such counters all over the country,” she said. She also announced that a postage stamp on the Indian Railways will be released on August 16. Ms. Banerjee said projects announced by the railways, including upgrading stations and developing some stations as multi-functional complexes, will increase the infrastructure and revenue of the State and the earnings of the common people. (The Hindu 27/7/09) Rajasthan to enact new SEZ Act (4) JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced a number of concessions for new special economic zones (SEZs) to be developed in the State, for which a new SEZ Act is proposed to be enacted and exemptions in luxury tax, lease and registry fee are to be provided. Proposing the Finance and Appropriation Bills amid pandemonium in the State Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. Gehlot said the new legislation would accord an identical status to the developer and co-developer of SEZ and levy only Rs.100 as the land conversion fee. The industrial units established in the SEZ would get exemption from electricity duty for ten years instead of the previous seven years, while the hotels and entertainment units on the SEZ premises would be exempted totally from payment of luxury tax and get 50 per cent concession on entertainment tax for seven years. Mr. Gehlot said the mutation for land purchased for an SEZ and later on its lease would be exempted from registry fee. The lease deeds of industrial units established in the rented buildings will also get this exemption. The Chief Minister also announced an increase in the salaries of sitting MLAs as well as the pension of former MLAs. The salary will go up from the present Rs.5,000 per month to Rs.7,500 per month along with the revision in the meeting allowance from Rs.400 a day to Rs.500 a day. Each MLA would also be provided with a laptop computer costing up to Rs.50,000. In case the legislators do not avail of the vehicle facility provided by the district pool, they will get conveyance reimbursement up to Rs.10,000 per month. For former MLAs, the monthly pension has been doubled from Rs.2,500 to Rs.5,000, while their spouse would get 50 per cent pension for lifetime and exemption from toll tax after their death. The Finance and Appropriation Bills were passed by voice vote in the House. Mr. Gehlot affirmed in his written statement that this year’s State Budget had met people’s expectations and proposed higher outlays for various sectors despite recession, decline in revenue earnings and additional financial liabilities. Mr. Gehlot announced an extension of the amnesty scheme launched by the Commercial Taxes Department during the previous financial year till December 31 this year. He said the performance audit of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) works would be strengthened on the Andhra Pradesh pattern. While 14 new courts across the State will be established for disposal of cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act, an Urban Improvement Trust (UIT) would be appointed shortly in Jaisalmer for planned development of the city attracting large numbers of tourists. Mr. Gehlot said service delivery in the State would be improved qualitatively through e-governance and the Chief Secretary would regularly monitor implementation of the budgetary announcements. (The Hindu 30/7/09)

‘Save Chandigarh from violation of land laws’ (4) HC stays implementation of govt quota order on SC, ST (25)

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has put a stay on the state government order directing the private engineering colleges to reserve seats for SC, ST and OBC students. The Bench, comprising Justices Pradeep Kant and Ritu Raj Awasthi, held on Friday that the government order, issued on July 22, was prima facie a violation of an interim order which the court had passed while hearing the petitions challenging the reservation policy in unaided institutions. The Bench was hearing two PILs — one filed by advocate Bijay Kumar Singh Parmar and the other by retired Professor Ajay Swarup. The court ordered that the counselling, which is to begin from August 8, will not be conducted in accordance with the government order. As for the counselling which has been done so far, it will be decided on the basis of orders that the court may pass in the future after hearing the petitions. The next hearing has been scheduled for August 12. Ads by Google News on Pakistan News portal featuring Pakistan News Browse the Latest HeadlinesCentralAsiaOnline.coWho Runs Pakistan? Zardari, Gilani or Kayani? Asks Sultan Shahinwww.NewAgeIslam.com/India's Top Engg College Ranked first for Placements Plan for a Rewarding Career Todaywww.amity.edu/AmityA Earlier, the UP Technical University had claimed that the private colleges had voluntarily agreed to follow the reservation policy, which also happens to be one of the affiliation norms. The Bench, however, observed that the government had not submitted any such agreement. It also held that while reservation was one of the conditions for affiliation, it cannot be taken as a consent of the institution. According to IB Singh, Counsel of the petitioners, the state government had issued an order on July 29, stating that the colleges applying for fresh affiliation will have to follow the reservation policy. “Before July 29, there was no such government order,” said Singh. (Indian Express 8/8/09) PIL petition against acquiring lands for Special Economic Zone (4) MADURAI: A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Madras High Court Bench here to quash a Government Order issued on June 12 for acquiring 1488.71 acres of land in Sivarakkottai, Karisalkalampatti and Swami Mallampatti villages near here for establishing a Special Economic Zone. A Division Bench comprising Justice V. Ramasubramanian and Justice M.M. Sundresh on Friday directed Assistant Solicitor General C. Arul Vadivel alias Sekar and Special Government Pleader (SGP) R. Janakiramulu to obtain instructions from the Union and State governments by Tuesday. Madurai Mavatta Vivasayigal Nala Sangam had filed the PIL claiming that most of the properties to be acquired by the Government were cultivable and not dry lands. Crops such as coriander, cotton, corn, groundnut and green gram among others were raised in the three villages irrigated by nearly 10 water bodies. “The petitioner association had undertaken various demonstrations, agitations and also gave representations to the respondents not to acquire the fertile lands for the purpose of establishing an SEZ. Acquisition of the lands would only result in making the people migrant workmen and refugees in their own lands,” the affidavit read. Pointing out that the officials did not conduct a public hearing or an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before resorting to the acquisition proceedings, the association said that any amount of compensation would not help the villagers who were content with the income from agricultural operations. The association sought a direction to the Union and State governments to constitute a committee comprising a person nominated by the Dean of Madurai Agricultural College, an expert in dry land farming and another in field of organic farming, besides a representative of farmers’ associations, to study the nature of lands to be acquired. Passing interim orders on behalf of the Bench, Mr. Justice Ramasubramanian said: “The petitioner prays for an interim order of stay of the G.O. as well as a direction to constitute a committee… There may not technically be any objection to the interim direction since the acquisition is only at the stage of proposal.” Nevertheless, he conceded to a request made by the SGP and granted time till Tuesday to obtain instructions. The SGP was asked to clarify whether environmental clearance had been accorded for the project as per procedures stipulated under an EIA Notification issued by the Union Environment Ministry on January 29, 1992. (The Hindu 9/8/09) INLD demands judicial probe into Haryana SEZ 'scandal'(4) Haryana Special Economic Zones (SEZs) project is 'the biggest land scandal in the history of India' and the alleged scam should be probed by a high level judicial official, the opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) said Wednesday. INLD general secretary Ajay Chautala said the ruling Congress had grabbed poor farmers' land on the false assurances of creating 200,000 jobs through these SEZs. 'Haryana Chief Minister (Bhupinder Singh Hooda) was talking about the generation of over two lakh jobs and investment worth millions of rupees in Haryana. All these claims fell flat as till date no SEZ has been completed,' said the son of former Haryana chief minister Om Parkash Chautala. 'If we talk about only Reliance SEZ, then

it is alone a fraud of over Rs.100,000 crore. In the past, their deadline had been extended two times and now they are again demanding an extension of two more years,' which he said was unlawful. 'We demand a high-level inquiry by a Supreme Court or high court judge into Haryana SEZs. We believe that it is the biggest land-scandal in the history of India,' Chautala said. In the April-May Lok Sabha elections, the INLD failed to win even a single seat in the state. The ruling Congress got nine out of 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana. The INLD leader said there are nearly two dozen SEZs in the state where builders have only erected four-walls just to grab the land of poor farmers at throwaway prices. (India 12/8/09) Bengal SEZ builders seek more time (4) Calcutta, Aug. 16: Many developers of SEZs in Bengal, which have received in-principle approval from the commerce ministry, have either shelved their plans or want more time to acquire land. Among them are Purnendu Chatterjee-led The Chatterjee Group, Venugopal Dhoot’s Videocon and a city-based Rahul Saraf-headed consortium. A proposed SEZ first gets in-principle approval, when the developer is yet to get land. After the developer acquires land, the SEZ gets formal approval. Following the formal approval, an SEZ is notified by the central government. The Chatterjee Group — which had obtained in-principle approval for an IT SEZ on 494 acres in Siliguri — has dropped its plans because of land acquisition problems. A few months back, DLF had sought a denotification for a proposed IT SEZ over 10.12 hectares at Rajarhat. At present, there are three SEZs in the state— Falta, Manikanchan and Wipro. Till March 2009, the government has given in-principle approval to 14 proposals in the state, formal approval to 14 and notified 9. Problems of land acquisition in Bengal for industrial purposes started with Singur and Nandigram. The Tatas were forced to shift the Nano factory from Singur to Sanand in Gujarat following an agitiation by Mamata Banerjee. At Nandigram, police firing led to the loss of 14 lives two years ago. The Bengal government had to move the site of the chemical hub to nearby Nayachar. Land-related problems have made DLF pull the plug on its proposed township project at Dankuni. Recently, a consortium formed by local mall developer Rahul Saraf, too, exited Bengal’s biggest IT park venture, which was supposed to come up at Jagadishpur near Rajarhat on the northern fringes of Calcutta. Many firms have sought an extension to complete land acquisition. These include Videocon Realty & Infrastructures, which requires 5,560 acres for two SEZs (3,060 acres for an engineering and electronics SEZ in North 24-Parganas and 2,500 acres for a multi-product SEZ in Kharagpur), Salarpuria Properties (250 acres for an electronics SEZ in North 24-Parganas) and SEZ Infrastructure (262.5 acres for an engineering SEZ in Howrah). Eighty-six proposals to set up units in big and medium sectors in the state were approved in 2007-08, involving an investment of Rs 228,039 crore. In 2005-06 and 2006-07, 667 units were approved, involving an investment of Rs 63,883 crore. The estimated employment generation in the new units would be 642,420. (Telegraph 18/8/09) Use of green technology to become mandatory in SEZs (4) New Delhi: Use of green-technology will become mandatory in Special Economic Zones (SEZs)—the tax and duty free industrial enclaves—with the commerce ministry drawing up guidelines for use of equipment using renewable energy sources like solar power in the zones. Senior officials of the commerce ministry, ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) and industry representatives from north met in Delhi on Monday to deliberate on the proposed guidelines. Similar meetings are also expected in other cities, before the guidelines are finalised. MNRE officials told the participants that they are planning to launch a scheme that subsidies cost of green technology in the SEZs. These include energy systems like solar street lights, solar blinkers, solar power inverters, solar illuminating hoardings and bill boards, aerogenerators upto 30 kw capacity, wind solar hybrids of above 1 kw as well as solar thermal systems for air heating and steam generating applications. The scheme is proposed to be implemented through Development Commissioners of respective SEZs. The draft Green SEZ guidelines propose that each SEZ should install solar power systems, which generate a minimum of 50KW per hectare. In addition, developers will have to create facilities for water harvesting, waste management, plantation, and provide eco-friendly local transportation within SEZs. “Green SEZs will help in optimisation of use of energy, conservation of power, efficient use of water, proper management of waste and development of green environment. It would help in pollution free environment and will improve the quality of life of all the people working and staying in SEZs,” said L B Singhal director general of Export Promotion Council for EoU and SEZ. The proposed guidelines comes after the ministry of commerce and

industry issues guidelines for setting up power units inside SEZs in February. Currently, there are about 580 formally approved SEZs in the country, of which 98 are operational. (Financial Express 18/8/09) Land acquisition and rehabilitation laws. Editorial Article by Walter Fernandes (4) The Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons Bill 2007 and Amendments to the Land Acquisition Act 1894 were passed by the 14th Lok Sabha in February but were defeated in the Rajya Sabha. They were to be placed before the budget session of the present Parliament but it was not done because of opposition from the TMC. They are expected to be introduced in the next session. In its manifesto the Congress had promised to enact the legislation as solutions to the problems faced by persons displaced by development projects. In reality the bills will make acquisition easier than in the past but do not promise anything new to the estimated 60 million persons displaced since 1947 in the name of national development. Very few of them have been resettled. In Assam, for example, only some ten projects out of 3,000 that have deprived around 20 lakh persons of their livelihood had some rehabilitation measures. Will these bills solve this problem? Their declared objective of “minimising displacement” is to be achieved through discussion with the requiring agency, not with the people to be displaced. Their consent is not required for land takeover. Patta land acquired from them will be compensated but the bills are vague on community land which is about a third of all land and eksonia patta land that is probably another third in Assam. The bureaucrat decides the quantum of compensation. Till now it has been invariably very low particularly in the “Backward Areas” where most land is acquired. People’s exclusion from discussion on “minimising displacement” is intriguing. Minimisation requires lower land acquisition. One is yet to hear of a requiring agency reducing its demand without pressure from the affected people. Because excess land acquisition has been a norm also in the past. For example, two thirds of the land acquired for the HAL-MiG Factory at Sunabeda, Koraput district, Orissa in 1966 are lying unused. The 16,000 tribals it displaced have not been resettled. The Burla town in the Sambalpur district of Orissa has been built on excess land acquired for the Hirakud dam. Forty eight major dams are scheduled to be built in the Northeast in the next decade. One can expect such excess acquisition to continue in this region too. After liberalisation private companies are demanding more land than required. For example, the Special Economic Zones Act 2005 stipulated that 25 per cent of the area be used for productive purposes. Under pressure from the people it was raised to 50’per cent. The rest can be used for tourist resorts, hotels, townships and other purposes. Each SEZ can be as big as 12,000 acres Little wonder then that some companies that only have experience in real estate speculation and none in production have applied for some of the more than 300 proposed SEZs. Among examples in industries is the Nano car factory. Studies show that a factory needs one acre to produce 1,000 cars and the Tatas proposed to make 350,000 of them. In 1952, the West Bengal Government had allotted 750 acres to the Birlas for Hindustan Motors. Fifty years later they had used only 300 acres and were allowed to develop a township on the remaining 350 acres. Instead of encouraging such real estate speculation at the cost of the land losers that could have been allotted to the Tatas. But they were allotted 997 acres at Singur when they needed less than half of it. Is the rest meant for real estate speculation? The proposed bills have not provided any steps to prevent such abuses. They limit rehabilitation to projects that displace 400 families in the plains and 200 in the hill and scheduled areas. People cannot decide even on their own rehabilitation. The administrator will prepare a plan in consultation with them. They will be given land “if it is available”. This phrase replaces the bureaucratic buck-passing phrase “as far as possible”. There is no assurance of jobs or other economic support. The bills demand social impact assessment before taking a decision on land acquisition. But they limit it to common property like schools, ponds and roads and do not mention impacts such as impoverishment, social disruption, psychological trauma and cultural degradation that the displaced feel. The message is clear: people do not count, only property does. Most benefits given to the displaced are in the form of subsidies, not permanent assets. Thus, rehabilitation is treated as welfare, not a right. For projects that displace fewer than 400 families, only vague statements are made that they too should be rehabilitated. These failures were avoidable because alternatives were available to the Government if it had the political will to deal with people’s impoverishment and marginalisation. As early as 1967 a committee of what later became the Ministry of Rural Development had suggested major changes in the colonial Land Acquisition Act. In 1985 a Committee of the Department of Welfare had suggested a rehabilitation policy. But the Government waited till the World Bank withdrew from Narmada in 1992 to prepare the first draft policy. We are an independent country no doubt but the World Bank has to tell us that we should rehabilitate our citizens displaced in the name of national development. The civil

society groups prepared an alternative to this defective draft. The Ministry accepted much of it in its 1998 draft. But the policy promulgated by the NDA Government in 2004 turned out to be eyewash. The UPA promised to improve on it. Its National Advisory Council prepared a draft that demanded people’s prior informed consent before displacement, stipulated their involvement at every stage, replaced the “public purpose” of displacement with “public interest” since acquisition for private profit cannot be called a public purpose, included replacement value for compensation instead of the measly compensation given today, declared rehabilitation a right of the displaced and stated that the policy will apply to persons displaced ten years prior to its promulgation. The Ministry of Rural Development prepared another draft that was only marginally better than the 2004 policy. The Government that has promised to combine economic growth with social justice promulgated this totally inadequate document and has prepared two bills based on it. (The writer is Director, North Eastern Social Research Centre, Guwahati.) (Assam Tribune 21/8/09) “Stop acquiring land for special economic zones” (4) TIRUCHI: Farmers should unite to fight against World Trade Agreement regime which would have an adverse impact on the agriculture sector, observed Sunilam, former MLA, who arrived here as part of the Saptkranti Vichar Yatra from Mumbai to New Delhi to commemorate the birth centenary of Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia. Speaking at seminar on Protection of Right to Livelihood, organised by the Federation of Unorganised Sector Workers and other partner organisations here on Saturday, Mr.Sunilam, who heads the Farmers Struggle Committee, also opposed the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Council Act and demanded a halt to acquisition of farm lands for establishing special economic zones. The government should fix the minimum support price for paddy at Rs.1,500 a quintal. The yatra, intended to spread the message of Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia, covering various States began at the August Kranti Maidan at Mumbai on August 9 and would culminate at New Delhi on October 12. The yatra was meant to create awareness of the social disparities highlighted by Dr.Lohia and his message of reform. The yatris, including youths, travel by vehicles to promote the ideals of Gandhiji and Lohia. The major demands put forward by them included scrapping of SEZ policy, recognition of farmers as skilled labourers and ensuring a monthly income of Rs.10,000 a month to them, use of regional language as working language in all courts and free compulsory and uniform education till higher secondary level. R.Geetha, Coordinator, Southern Region, National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Sector Workers, V.Maheswaran, State joint secretary, Federation of Unorganised Sector Workers, spoke. (The Hindu 23/8/09) Stop acquiring land for special economic zones” (4) TIRUCHI: Farmers should unite to fight against World Trade Agreement regime which would have an adverse impact on the agriculture sector, observed Sunilam, former MLA, who arrived here as part of the Saptkranti Vichar Yatra from Mumbai to New Delhi to commemorate the birth centenary of Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia. Speaking at seminar on Protection of Right to Livelihood, organised by the Federation of Unorganised Sector Workers and other partner organisations here on Saturday, Mr.Sunilam, who heads the Farmers Struggle Committee, also opposed the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Council Act and demanded a halt to acquisition of farm lands for establishing special economic zones. The government should fix the minimum support price for paddy at Rs.1,500 a quintal. The yatra, intended to spread the message of Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia, covering various States began at the August Kranti Maidan at Mumbai on August 9 and would culminate at New Delhi on October 12. The yatra was meant to create awareness of the social disparities highlighted by Dr.Lohia and his message of reform. The yatris, including youths, travel by vehicles to promote the ideals of Gandhiji and Lohia. The major demands put forward by them included scrapping of SEZ policy, recognition of farmers as skilled labourers and ensuring a monthly income of Rs.10,000 a month to them, use of regional language as working language in all courts and free compulsory and uniform education till higher secondary level. R.Geetha, Coordinator, Southern Region, National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Sector Workers, V.Maheswaran, State joint secretary, Federation of Unorganised Sector Workers, spoke.(The Hindu 23/8/09) NTPC agrees on compensation package for displaced people (4) HAZARIBAG: The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has agreed to pay Rs eight lakh (including solarium amount and interest plus) per acre to families who would have to give up their agriculture land for setting up the Pakri Barwadih Coal Mining Project. Hazaribag deputy commissioner

Binay Kumar Choubey had earlier asked the NTPC authorities to pay Rs 10 lakh per acre as compensation to the families who would give up their fertile agricultural land for the project. The DC, who held an important meeting with Pakri Barwadih residents at the project site on Sunday, said the compensation would be in addition to the other packages offered by the NTPC as per its R& R policy. The DC informed the gathering the district administration and the state government were very sympathetic towards the displaced persons and this was why he had asked the NTPC authorities to raise the compensation amount from Rs five lakh per acre to at least Rs 10 lakh. The project, once commissioned, would generate 20,000 MW of addition power for the all round development of the region. The DC informed the villagers that the the government had already issued notification on the project and reiterated that the displaced persons would have to give the land in national interest. "The stand of the government can neither be changed nor diluted by any of the parties," he said Sunday's meeting was attended by senior NTPC executives of the NTPC who came all the way from Delhi to convince the district administration and the villagers that the corporation would try to give maximum compensation in addition to the other packages offered under its R&R policy. Those who attended the meeting included ED (CM & CW) K K Sharma, ED (R&R) A C Chaturvedi from the corporate sector besides Pakri Barwadih Coal Mining Project GM besides A Upendra Rao. The ED (R&R) informed that the compensation package include the land rate at the rate of Rs 8 lakh (including the solarium amount and interest plus) and Rs 2500 per month per acre as annual payment up to 30 years (enhanced by Rs 500 for two years) would be given to the land oustees and their heirs. This apart, Rs four lakh would be paid to those who do not want land and house in the R&R townships.He said the NTPC was committed to uplift the living standard of the displaced. Some of the villagers demanded that the package for the displaced people be paid at one go. (Times of India 25/8/09) TN attracted Rs 30,512 cr investment in 2008-09, says Stalin (4) CHENNAI: One of the "favoured investment destinations" in the country, Tamil Nadu had attracted Rs 30,512 crore worth industrial investment in 2008-09, bettering the target of Rs 30,000 crore, Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin said here today. Dedicating the Cheyyar Special Economic Zone, located inside the Cheyyar SIPCOT Industrial Park near here, he said this was possible due to 19 additional industrial investments in the year. The state had so far attracted Rs 37,595 crore of investment since the DMK government came to power in May 2006, he claimed. "The state stands third in developing SEZs and industrially backward areas are being indetified for setting up production units," he said. Among the major players to have set up shop in the Cheyyar SEZ is footwear manufacturer Nike, which has invested Rs 164 crore out of the committed Rs 300 crore for which it signed an MoU with the state government in 2006, an official press release said. So far 3000 persons have been employed there with 85 per cent of them locals, it said. Besides Nike, eight other manufacturing units are coming up on nearly 90 acres out of the total of 275-acre SEZ on an investment of Rs 355 crore, the release added. (Economic Times 31/8/09) Rehabilitation of displaced villagers urged (4) Imphal, August 31 2009: Expressing deep concern over the sufferings faced by the Zeme Nagas, who are currently taking refuge in Tamenglong district, following the ethnic violence in North Cachar Hills district in Assam, the Tamenglong Public Forum has urged the State Government to take up necessary measures for their resettlement. At the moment, about 800 Zeme Nagas are taking refuge in Tousem sub-division of Tamenglong district, following the crackdown launched by the DHD (J) in NC Hills. Other than the State Government, a number of civil society organisations and local villagers are extending help to the displaced Zeme Nagas. Advisor of the Forum, Ashinpou Gangmei said that the displaced villagers are leading an uncertain life and added that they are not willing to return to their homesteads in NC Hills, as the situation is yet to return to normalcy.The Government should take up all measures to ensure that the villagers are able to return to their homesteads to their native villages and resume normal lives, said Gangmei. As there are no roads connecting NC Hills in Assam and Tousem sub-division, security forces cannot rush to the area, when any unwanted incidents occur. The lack of roads means that the region is a haven for a number of militants, added Gangmei. To ensure the security of the people, it is essential that roads are built. Deputy Commissioner of Tamenglong, Jacinta Lazarus, on being contacted said that the district administration is doing its best to look after the displaced villagers, including their daily needs. The State has already provided a large quantity of rice to the villagers, besides pocket money, said Lazarus and added that within the next few days, 150 quintals of rice would be sent to the displaced villagers.

Terming them as migrant workers, under a special scheme, the district administration has given them job cards under the NREGS and they have been provided three days employment in the initial stage, added the DC. The job cards, would however be taken back, once they return to their native villages, she added. E Newmai, convenor of the Tousem unit of Zeliangrong Students' Union, that the number of villagers taking refuge at Tousem has decreased from the earlier 1000, as some of them have taken shelter at a relief camp opened in Assam. E-pao 1/9/09) Acquisition of land for NICE road stayed (4) BANGALORE: Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) on Thursday suffered a double blow when the Karnataka High Court stayed the acquisition of land in Konepana Agrahara on Hosur Road and in Gottigere off Bannerghatta Road. Justice B.S. Patil passed the orders on two petitions. The petitioners in both the cases had challenged the acquisition of their land by NICE for the contentious Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Project (BMICP). The project envisages the construction of an expressway between Bangalore and Mysore and several townships. The project has run into controversy with land owners and farmers accusing NICE and its sister concern Nandi Economic Corridor Enterprise (NECE) of acquiring excess land. In the first petition, Saraswathamma, Ravi Reddy and others of Konepana Agrahara challenged the change in the alignment of the peripheral road that is being constructed by NICE as part of the BMICP. They said they had managed to collect several documents under the Right to Information Act which disclosed the illegal change in the alignment of the peripheral road. They placed the documents before the court and urged it to direct NICE and others not to dispossess the owners of their land. Mr. Patil stayed any action to dispossess the petitioners of their land. He ordered issue of notices to NICE and other respondents, including secretaries of several government departments, involved in the project. In the other petition, Mr. Patil stayed the dispossession of Raja Datta’s land at Gottigere off Bannerghatta Road. He also ordered issue of notices to NICE and other respondents. NICE is constructing a peripheral road adjacent to the Gottigere Lake and Mr. Datta alleged that NICE had illegally changed the alignment of the peripheral road. (The Hindu 4/9/09) Land acquisition leading to violence: VBSS (4) BHUBANESWAR: Vedanta Biswabidyalaya Birodhi Sangharsh Samiti expressed deep concern over growing violence in villages where Vedanta University was proposed to be set up on more than 6,000 acres of land. “The administration is using its brutal police force and terrifying innocent unarmed landowners, villagers at gun point to illegally occupy the valuable land. Bombing and firing is a clear-cut proof,” said Debi Prasad Prusti, a member of VBBSS here on Thursday. Submitting a memorandum to Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, Mr. Prusti requested that he should exercise his constitutional powers to prevent “repression” on innocent villagers, as was done by his counterpart Gopal Krishna Gandhi in West Bengal when Singur and Nandigram issues came to the fore. The VBBSS member alleged that the project was nothing but a well planned conspiracy to grab valuable land. Mr. Prusti informed that Governor’s office assured an inquiry into violence and setting up of university by a multinational company. Meanwhile, VBBSS members on Thursday filed a complaint with Superintendent of Police of Puri alleging that anti-social elements were trying to terrorise villagers involved in opposing land acquisition for proposed university. They said criminals were often straying in to their villages and threatening those who protested against land acquisition. VBBSS demanded action against anti-social elements after thorough investigation into the incident.(The Hindu 4/9/09) Posco to treat encroachers on a par with the displaced (4) Posco India, which is looking to set up a 12-million-tonne steel plant near Paradeep in Orissa, has decided to treat the encroachers squatting on the government land earmarked for its project on a par with the project-displaced persons for rehabilitation and resettlement purposes.If implemented, Posco’s bonanza for encroachers is expected to create a new trend in the realm of rehabilitation and resettlement of project-affected persons in Orissa. Interestingly, the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy of the state government is completely silent on any compensation package to the encroachers. Apart from “house for house” to the encroachers in the rehabilitation colony, the company has assured them of providing employment in the project work. Similarly, in case of a delay in finding suitable jobs for these people, the company has agreed to pay them a subsistence allowance of about Rs 3,000 per month in line with the minimum wage norms of the state government. THE NEW RULE: * If implemented, Posco's bonanza for encroachers is expected to create a new trend in the realm of rehabilitation and resettlement of project-

affected persons in Orissa Apart from ‘house for house’ to the encroachers in the rehabilitation colony, the company has assured them employment in the project work * In case of delay in finding suitable jobs for these people, the company has agreed to pay them a subsistence allowance of about Rs 3,000 per month in line with the minimum wage norms * The encroachments are not concentrated and occur in a scattered manner, dotting a large tract of the project site * Besides building houses on the government land, the squatters are earning their livelihood through prawn gheri and betel vine operations According to the preliminary surveys, of the total 466 families going to be displaced by the Posco project, 232 families are illegal squatters on government land, which amounts to 3,566 acres out of the 4,004 acres required for the project. The encroachments are not concentrated and occur in a scattered manner, dotting a large tract of the project site. Hence, eviction of encroachment was crucial for the company to start construction work, said a source. Besides building houses on government land, the squatters are earning their livelihood from this patch through prawn gheri and betel vine operations. To compensate them on this front and lure them to dismantle these illegal establishments, the company has decided to pay the squatters Rs 7,000 per decimal of betel vine cultivation and Rs 1 lakh per acre of prawn gheri, in line with the government guidelines. Meanwhile, all these compensations — along with an estimated Rs 100 crore the company has to fork out towards net value of trees and compensatory afforestation required to obtain Stage II forest clearance for the project — are expected to push up its land acquisition cost substantially. While, on paper, the cost of government land is only Rs 25,000 per acre, the cost of acquisition of government land was expected to shoot up to Rs 6-7 lakh per acre when the compensation the company has to pay to the squatters and for forest clearance was also taken into account, sources added. Still, it would be a bargain for Posco when this is compared with the Rs 30-40 lakh per acre being demanded by locals for acquisition of private land. (Business Standard 4/9/09) Mamata urges Rajarhat farmers to reclaim land (4) KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, urged villagers of Rajarhat whose farmland was taken away against their will to reclaim' their plots and start tilling. "The state government has now made it clear that it will not use the land for industry. They will have to return the land to you. In the meantime, form a jomi bachao committee, identify whatever land you can, and start tilling. I did not let farmers down in Singur or Nandigram. I shall fight for you as well. I was branded antiindustry when I spoke out against forcible acquisition. Now, it is for everyone to see how land deals are handled across the state. I want industry, but I will not allow the forcible acquisition," she told a huge gathering outside the Vedic Village compound. Claiming that Gaffar Hossain Mollah was arrested from a CPM leader's house, Mamata branded the North 24-Parganas SP a "stooge of the ruling party". "The SP has gone out of his way to establish that Gaffar was arrested from Bankura. This is a lie. There are people in the police department who have told us that he was sheltered by a CPM leader. We also know that Gaffar was instructed by CPM to turn approver and shift the blame on Arabul Islam and Trinamool. I will not protect Arabul if he is found guilty. I have already expelled three party leaders from this area, who were involved in shady land deals. Let the state government get the CBI to investigate the matter," she said, with Arabul by her side. Claiming that shady land deals have been going on in Rajarhat for the last 15 years, the Trinamool chief said that the CPM has got into the habit of blaming others for its own misdeeds. "They accused Tapasi Mullick's father of being involved in her rape and murder. They tried to frame Abu Sufian in Nandigram and Javed Khan in Kolkata. They do not believe in democracy. In the name of running panchayats, they have promoted corruption in the villages. Let me come to power and I will show them how panchayats should operate. Let them build industry on New Town land. They will have to return what they have taken from you," Mamata said. At the public meeting, Mamata produced a document, from which she read out the quantum of loan that realtors (particularly the Diamond Group) had taken from Central Bank of India. "They have taken loans against this land. This is illegal. They manipulated everything with the help of the state government," she said. Mamata's claim that the Rajarhat land would be returned may stir a hornet's nest among land-losers. When asked whether the land would actually be returned to unwilling farmers, state land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah said: "My department was not dealing with the projects. It is for the concerned department to decide." (Times of India 9/9/09) RBI eases norms in SEZ cases (4) Mumbai, Sept 9, Press Trust of India:: The Reserve Bank on Wednesday said bank finance to developers of infrastructure facilities in SEZs would be taken as infrastructure lending, against its 2006 ruling that

classified these as commercial real estate (CRE) exposures. Final guidelines on the definition of CRE exposures, necessitated due to risks involved in the real estate and Basel-II framework, were on Wednesday laid out by the RBI, after considering feedbacks on its draft guidelines. “Banks can finance cost of land development, which will be classified as CRE for the reason that the source of repayment would be the lease rentals,” it said, adding loans for acquiring land to private developers for setting up of SEZ is not permitted. However, the banking regulator said banks should keep in mind the substance of the transaction rather than the form. Guidelines are based on principles and comes with illustrative examples based on which banks should be able to determine. For example, it is possible that an SEZ may be developed by a single company entirely or mainly for its own use. In such cases the repayment will depend on the cash flows generated by the economic activities of the units in the SEZ and the general cash flow of the company rather than the level of real estate prices. It should not then be classified as CRE, according to RBI In cases where lease rentals are insulated from volatility in the real estate prices by way of lease agreements for periods not less than that of the loan, such cases need not be treated as CRE from the time such conditions get fulfilled, the central bank said. “These guidelines have further clarified that exposure towards acquisition of units in SEZs or purchase and working capital requirements etc would not be treated as CRE exposure and consequently would be treated as infrastructure lending,” said Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs Director General L B Singhal. (Deccan Herald 9/9/09) Protestors vow to fight against Posco, Vedant (4) PARADIP: Empowered by public support, the anti-land acquisition leaders have strongly protested both Posco steel project in Paradip and Vedant University in Puri and vowed to intensify stir at the national level here today. After the release of anti-Posco leader Abhay Sahoo, Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti organised a meeting to protest Posco steel project. The meeting was attened by anti-land acquisition leaders from different parts of the state as well as country participated and showed confidence on Sahoo to lead the movement. Addressing a gathering, All India Bistapan Virodhi leader B.D. Sharma strongly criticised the State Government for selling minerals and water to the industries at the cost of farming community. He has exhorted people to unite against the anti-people and anti-state policies of the government. Anti-land acquisition leaders vowed to fight against Posco steel project with the cooperation of the villagers. They also took a dig at the Special Economic Zone policy and dubbed all those who spoke in favour of it as anti-nationals. The plans of the Posco company to start plant work from next year would fall flat as the villagers are determined to debar the entry of officials to project site, the leaders said. Local MP Bibhuprasad Tarai, former CPI MLA Narayan Reddy, Chatrapur MLA Adikanda Sethy and other CPI leaders were present besides the president of Puri Vedant Birodi Sangharsa Samiti Benudhar Pradhan, Sambalpur Chasi Andolan leader Lingaraj, anti-land acquisition leader Praffula Samantray and Dhinkia sarpanch Sisir Mohapatra attended the meeting. (Express Buzz 11/9/09) Centre drafts green SEZ policy (4) Chennai/ Hyderabad September 11, 2009,: The Centre has drafted a ‘green SEZ policy’ for making industrial and non-industrial special economic zones (SEZs) more energy efficient. The policy will be introduced shortly, said MS Rao, development commissioner, Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone. There are 344 notified SEZs spread across 40,000 hectare in the country that have so far attracted Rs 1 lakh crore. “Guidelines have already been prepared in consultation with the CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre and we are now seeking inputs from the stakeholders as we would like to take them as partners in this initiative rather than imposing the guidelines on them,” Rao said, delivering his address on the ‘Role of government in promoting green buildings’ at the CII’s Green Building Congress 2009 in Hyderabad on Thursday. According to the draft green guidelines, buildings in the SEZ need to comply with the energy conservation building code by laying down solar power systems to generate a minimum of 50 Kw of power per hectare, meeting 50 per cent of hot water requirements through solar heating and implementing 100 per cent water harvesting while ensuring zero water discharge. (Business Standard 13/9/09) Centre may stop land acquisition in Naxal-hit areas (4) New Delhi, September 15, 2009: The Central government is considering an amendment to the Land Acquisition Act to stop state government’s from acquiring land for private projects in the country’s 90 districts worst hit by Naxal violence. Violent backlashes in Singur, Nandigram and Lal Garh areas of West

Bengal since 2007 over land acquisition by the state government for private sector projects apparently led to the change in government thinking. Earlier, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress spearheaded the anti-land acquisition movements in West Bengal and is a constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, made a similar demand. An expert group, headed by Chief Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, made it clear that land in the Naxal-affected areas could be acquired by the government only for public welfare and national security. “The proposals need to be further revised to minimise displacement of people and secure the rights of the displaced,” the group said in its report. The group said the government should not acquire land even for cooperatives and registered societies, besides corporate entities. Land could be acquired only for national security and public welfare projects implemented by the government. Following the group’s recommendations, six state governments — hit by Naxal violence — submitted proposals worth Rs 16,252 crore (Rs 162.5 billion) for the Centre’s approval. Planning Commission secretary Sudha Pillai told Hindustan Times on Monday that this money would not be raised separately. It would be made available by relocating the states’ budget allocations. The development projects in the Naxal-affected areas will begin by September end. Pillai said the money would be spent in five areas —road connectivity, health, education, electricity and development. On land acquisition, Pillai said there are already restrictions on direct acquisition by private entities in the tribaldominated areas marked under Schedule IV of the Constitution. Although most of Naxal-affected districts are tribal-dominated areas, the present law does not restrict the government from acquiring land for private investment. The 33 districts identified for special development include one from Andhra , six from Bihar, seven from Chhattisgarh, 10 from Jharkhand, one from Madhya Pradesh, two from Maharashtra, five from Orissa and one from Uttar Pradesh.(Hindustan Times 15/9/09) Special economic zones should go: Raigad farmers (4) Mumbai, September 16, 2009: The verdict at the public audit on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) held in Div village of Pen taluka in Raigad district was unanimous. The few 100 farmers and citizens gathered in the village hall for the day-long audit wanted the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to go. And there was not a single voice of dissent. Corporates like Reliance and the Tata group are seeking to buy up huge tracts of land in the Konkan region to set up power plants and bring about bigger development within easy reach of Mumbai. But farmers were scornful. “Who says they will be able to generate 200 jobs per acre of land acquired? They will not even be able to employ two for all that land grabbed,” said local farmers’ leader Sunil Naik. Speakers were mostly ordinary farmers from the region and those who had come from Nashik, Pune, Nagpur and even neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which are also facing trouble over land acquisition for SEZs. Eminent persons like professor Trilochan Sastry, academic dean of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, was there to deliver the public verdict against SEZs. The loudest applause was reserved for Marathi expletives used for the corporates and the government. ‘Shetachi zameen aamcha hakkachi, naahi konachya baapa chi (farm land belongs to us, not to anyone’s father)’ was the day’s slogan. “This is not just a simple debate about agriculture versus industry,” said Ulka Mahajan, national convenor of the National Alliance for People’s Movement, one of the five nongovernmental organisations who organised the public audit. The data will be collated and the public audit moves to Karnataka in October. Eight more states are going to face the heat in a similar fashion in the coming year. (Hindustan Times 16/9/09)

ArcelorMittal to change location within Jharkhand (4) Kolkata/ Ranchi October 1, 2009: The 12-million ton per annum capacity steel project of the ArcelorMittal Group is likely to be shifted from the present project site in tribal-dominated Torpa-Kamdara of Khunti district to other suitable location within Jharkhand as tribals living in the area have been vehemently protesting for sharing their land to build the steel plant. The Jharkhand government’s industries secretary N N Sinha said the state government came to know that Arcelor-Mittal Group had been contemplating to shift their project site from Torpa-Kamdara to some other suitable location in the state. Official sources in the state capital says that the steel major has been facing strong resistance from the locals under the leadership of some local organisations and NGOs in procuring the required land for the proposed steel project in their selected site at Torpa-Kamdara through land acquisition process of the state government.zIndustry sources pointed out that most of the land in Jharkhand was owned by tribals and taking over their land has become a difficult task after building of Bokaro Steel Plant, Heavy Engineering Corporation’s three plants and expansion projects of the Central Coalfields Linited during the

Bihar regime and now in Jharkhand. Sources said after constitution of Jharkhand in November 2000, the state government had signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with nearly 60 domestic and overseas investors with commitments that the state government would provide land and other infrastructure to the investors who committed to set up their projects in Jharkhand. Political observers said that most of the MoUs had been signed during the period of chief minister Arjun Munda. Details about the availability of land, water, electricity and related infrastructure for the proposed projects were not thoroughly examined. They said that save and except signing of MoUs with the investors, the Jharkhand government did not take any follow-up action against their commitments incorporated in the MoUs with the investors. After lapse of several years, formation of industrial policy, single window system (SWS), land bank and other related areas had been take up by constituting Jharkhand Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (JIIDCO) in September 2005. However, JIIDCO could do a little for the investors as the most important commitment incorporated in the MoU relating to allotment of land was not met. Meanwhile, Jharkhand chief secretary Shiv Basant said in Jamshedpur on September 20 that the state government had been awaiting Parliament’s approval to the Centre’s new Land Acquisition Bill in which the prospective investors have to purchase 70 per cent of their land requirement directly from the land-holders and the rest 30 per cent would be acquired by the state government. Industry sources said there had been much delay in implementing the commitments made in the MoUs by the state government which could create deadlock in the process of industrialization in Jharkhand. Sources said uncertainty looms over the investment of Rs 1,51,000 crore in steel projects in the state of Jharkhand by various national and international companies soon after the violence at Kalinga Nagar in Jaipur district of Orissa on January 2, 2006 over handing over of tribal land for the construction of a steel project. The Kalinga Nagar violence had become one of the guiding factors among the locals of Jharkhand to resist the land acquisition for the industries. The disquiet in the Jharkhand government after the Kalinga Nagar firing incident was reflected in the fact that the former state Governor Sayed Sibtey Razi had met the then President Abdul Kalam and the then Union home minister Shivraj Patil in New Delhi in January 2006. The former Jharkhand Governor during meeting with the then President and the then Union home minister apprised them of the ongoing agitation in the villages in the state over the land acquisition process.(Business Standard 1/10/09) ‘Land acquisition impasse needs to be resolved politically’ (4) Kolkata: Land acquisition is more a political question than business and the political leadership plays a very important role in harnessing a smooth process, according to Prof John D Macomber, lecturer and Gloria A Dauten real estate fellow at the Harvard Business School . The political leadership should be able to convince farmers of the benefits of letting go their land. For a farmer to give away his land is not an easy thing, so he has to be totally sure of his gain and herein comes the role of the leader, Macomber said on the sidelines of a session on sustainable development in urban infrastructure and construction sector, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here on Wednesday. Indian states, like West Bengal and Orissa, have been facing serious land acquisition problems with land holders either totally against the process or unhappy with the value fixed for the land and compensation provided. In fact, for the same reasons Tatas had to leave Singur and ArcelorMittal’s proposed steel plant in Orissa is getting delayed. States have even framed new rehabilitation & resettlement policies to overcome such impasse but the issue remains sensitive. Macomber is preparing four case studies from India for his students that include Dharavi slum area development in Mumbai and the West Bengal Housing Development Board. Referring to rapid industrialisation in India , he said: “Rapid rural to urban migration in India is leading to exponential growth of population in Indian cities. In the coming years, scarcity of resources, like water & energy and poor sanitation, is going to be a major challenge for fast developing countries which can only be addressed through rapid infrastructure development.” Harsh Neotia, MD, Bengal Ambuja Housing Development Ltd, said: “Rapid urbanization and infrastructure development are key impetus to economic development.” (Financial Express 1/10/09) Land regulations not executed (4) BHUBANESWAR: Much before Narayanpatna boiled, there were enough hints to suggest what was going on in the tribal hinterland of the State. Non-tribals were busy acquiring land giving the existing laws a slip, while the administration was in deep sleep. Had Orissa Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property (By Scheduled Tribes) Regulation, 1956 - meant to prevent alienation of tribal land - been implemented effectively, situation wouldn’t not have come this far. According to information acquired

through Right to Information (RTI) Act, as many as 100 cases had been filed over tribal land in Koraput alone. These cases involved over 206 acre of land. ``This is just what had been formally lodged over disputes. Law stipulates non-tribals possessing tribal land should voluntarily disclose the same. In case they don’t, the administration has authority to lodge cases on its own,’’ said an official. Land rights activists working in the region point out that it is because the administration never implemented the 1956 regulation properly, the disputes never came to the fore and the actual dimension could not be ascertained leading to a volatile situation now. The situation was true for other tribal-dominated areas too. In Keonjhar, a whopping 2,700 cases were filed while Mayurbhanj saw 83 cases involving over 90 acre filed at various times. Similarly, Kandhamal, another district on the boil, saw 307 cases filed over land transfer and the area in question was 272 acre. In Sundargarh, 36 cases were found to be filed. In all the districts, things have come to the fore only during conflict stages, not when the alienation took place. Activists believe had the regulation been fully functional, situation would have been different. What speaks volumes about the scenario is first settlement in Narayanpatna. It took place way back in early 1960s but even now there is a sizeable landless tribal population in the block. (Express Buzz 4/10/09) A year on, Singur picks up the pieces (4) It's an anniversary Singur would like to forget. On October 3 last year, Tata Motors pulled the massive Nano car project out of Bengal, leaving behind the rubble of dashed hopes and falling real estate prices. A year later, land prices are less than half the peak levels of Rs 20 lakh an acre, closer to the state government compensation of Rs 9-12 lakh an acre for those who gave up land for the project, said a state government official. “Those who had bought land in 2007-08, are unable to sell their land. Some had bought it by investing their entire savings at one go,” said a senior official from Singur. As Tata Motors started constructing the factory in 2007-2008, several small and medium entrepreneurs started preparing blueprints for projects like housing complex, hotels and other commercial real estate projects surrounding the complex. But all is not lost. The dust is gradually settling and Singur is learning to cope with the new reality. There are more than nine banks in the Singur block, the highest concentration in any block in rural Bengal. Most of these had opened branches to tap corporate clients, who would have worked with the Nano factory. But banks have taken the disappointment in their stride and now more than 90 per cent of loan disbursements are for agriculture. Axis Bank, for example, says its branch has reached break-even point and is also profitable. "We had opened a branch in Singur with high expectations, and we hoped to have corporate clients. But after the Tata pullout, things changed. Now we are heavily into agri-lending, with 98 per cent of advances to the agriculture sector," said Debkumar Som, assistant vice-president and branch head of the Axis branch in Singur. Even State Bank of India (SBI) had opened a branch in Singur to tap corporate clients. It has also shifted gears towards agriculture lending. All the bank branches opened during 2007-2008 in the area are still functioning, the driving force being the strong agricultural base of Singur, where farming is the mainstay for a majority. Farmers and traders have profited from the spike in potato prices this season. There are about seven cold storages in Singur. “This year, the boom has been due to a phenomenal rise in potato prices. As a result, the average consumer spending has gone up. We have seen an increase in fixed deposits in the last few months, with most customers from potato traders,” said Som. Buoyed by the success, Axis Bank introduced secured credit cards, linked to fixed deposits in the Singur branch. It has so far issued 500 credit cards in Singur, and is now actively marketing other financial products like insurance schemes. Singur is also living on the hope of an industrial estate. Becharam Manna, convenor, Krishi Jami Raksha Committee, backed by the Trinamool Congress, said party head Mamata Banerjee, now a Union cabinet minister, was in discussions at various levels for a solution to Singur and it would happen before the assembly elections in 2011. “The land will be returned to unwilling farmers,” said Manna. Banerjee’s agitation last year for the return of 400 acres that belonged to unwilling farmers of the total 997 acres acquired ultimately led to the pullout. Banerjee has maintained that industry could come up on the remaining land in Singur. The state government, which puts the disputed land figure at 181 acres, also believes that nothing is possible in Singur without a political solution. The state’s commerce and industry minister, Nirupam Sen, could not say how such a solution would come about. But since Singur, the state has fine-tuned its policy for land acquisition with a focus on rehabilitation, land-for-land being the most important feature. However, says Sen, “Rehabilitation is not a solution for Singur. That was not what the Opposition demanded.” (Business Standard 5/10/09) Land acquisition problems threaten USD 100bln investment in India: Study (4)

New Delhi, Oct 6 : A day after the world's largest steel maker Arcelor Mittal threatened to relocate its proposed steel plants in Jharkhand and Orissa on account of difficulties encountered in acquiring land for the mega projects, a study today claimed that delays in land acquisition for industrial projects are endangering 100 billion dollars worth of investments across the country. Earlier, Tatas were forced to pull out their Nano car project from West Bengal due to Singur agitation by farmers whose land had been acquired for the car plant. A Steel Ministry report said 22 major steel projects worth 82 billion dollars are being held up because of procedural delays in obtaining environmental clearance, delays in land acquisition mainly due to public protests, and the global economic downturn. This, according to Assocham-Eco Pulse study, has raised a question mark over the Ministry's target to add 150 million tonnes capacity by 2015. Companies being affected by such delays include Arcelor Mittal, Essar Steel, Jindal Steel, Posco and Tata Steel. Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said a recent government study said at least 70 per cent of 190 delayed infrastructure projects have been stalled on account of problems over land acquisitions, especially the compensation to be paid to the landowners. The escalating cost of compensation is also forcing up the cost of projects, thereby affecting their viability, he added. He called for an integrated land acquisition policy based on fair value to ensure efficiency in remuneration, rehabilitation and resettlement to accomplish the task of fast-tracking infrastructure and mega projects. The study revealed that 18 projects envisaging an investment of Rs 2,44,815.5 crore remained on papers after agreements were signed in the last three to four years. Had these been implemented these projects would have created 1,64,000 jobs and given indirect employment to another 2,70,000 people, it added. The report suggested a 5-point strategy to find a solution to the problem to bolster economic recovery. The industry chamber called for a broad-based national political will to ensure smooth and timely passage of the contentious land acquisition amendment bill by Parliament. It suggested a National Land Bank for land development and development of waste land for industrial projects. Assocham suggested remunerative compensation for the acquired land based on market price along with equity ownership in projects. It advocated state level forums to assess the economic, environmental, social and cultural viability of rehabilitation and resettlement programmes. The apex chamber said rehabilitation programmes for displaced land owners should be the fundamental responsibility of the land acquiring companies. (New Kerala 6/10/09) Displaced slum dwellers yet to get any relief (4) LUCKNOW: District administration is yet to provide any relief to the slum dwellers in Vibhuti Khand, Gomtinagar, despite the displeasure shown by the governor. The slum was bulldozed on September 29 on the pretext that it was falling in the route Governor B L Joshi was supposed to take on way to take part in a function. The district magistrate had assured on Tuesday last that efforts are underway to provide relief but nothing was done till Thursday evening. The slum dwellers were living in the locality since last five to seven years. Most of them are Dalits and Backward Muslims, who migrated from their villages in search of livelihood. All families come under below poverty line but are not given any benefit. They were assured of a home under central government sponsored scheme for poor in February by the district authorities. They were also told that demolition of the slum will be done only after alternative arrangements are made for them. But none of the promises were kept by the administration. The governor, when he came to know that the slum has been demolished in his name, expressed displeasure over the fact and Raj Bhawan officials communicated the same to the district authorities. However, despite that nothing has been done so far. The slum dwellers are forced to live in open amid rains and inclement weather conditions. A newborn died a few days back. According to the dwellers, on Thursday a few officials came to the site and told them that the place has been chosen for constructing a building for some government department.(Times of India 9/10/09) Rights panel chief lashes out at ‘enemies of mankind’ (4) Bangalore: Karnataka State Human Rights Commission Chairperson S.R. Nayak has lashed out at “enemies of mankind” who are looting nature and creating an imbalance, making oblique references to unbridled mining activity in Karnataka and the political powers vested with the mining lobby. Speaking at a programme organised to mark World Food Day by the Institution of Agricultural Technologists and others here on Friday, he criticised the powers that are allowing conversion of fertile lands into Special Economic Zones. He questioned the logic of giving away vast stretches of cultivable land to develop an airport in Bellary. Mr. Nayak described the right to adequate food as the most fundamental of all human rights, and said that market powers that dictate cultivation and consumption patters are resulting in half

the world suffering from malnutrition despite food production being adequate to feed all. Expressing distress over pervasive corruption adding to the unfair distribution situation, he mocked that MLAs were being traded “like chicken in the market” weeks after elections. Speaking on the topic “Achieving food security in times of crisis”, R. Dwarakinath, former vice-chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), said it would be foolhardy at this point to expect a “second green revolution” to increase agricultural production. Mr. Dwarakinath said that the Green Revolution had adopted a top-down approach and the beneficiaries were better off farmers who were also good managers of resources. The focus was then on irrigated lands and rich farmers, while dry land farmers had got no more than “diluted green revolution technologies, he added. The focus urgently needed to shift to harnessing the untapped production potential of dry land agriculture, considering that as many 60 crore poor farmers are dependent on it, he said. The middle and poor farmers should be given specific technologies to help preserve their micro-climatic conditions, agricultural resources and improve production, he added. K.N. Ganeshiah, professor, UAS, spoke about the impact of climate change on calamities like flood and drought and cropping patterns. (The Hindu 17/10/09) SEZ developers show withdrawal symptoms (4) Pune: After the initial mad rush for SEZs, withdrawal symptoms seem to have set in. The attraction seems to have dimmed. SEZ developers have not only been facing opposition from local farmers who refused to give up their land for projects, but also had to realign and reduce project sizes in face of stiff opposition. The Videocon SEZ at Pune has already been scrapped, the Mahindra & Mahindra SEZ at Karla near Pune and the Bharat Forge SEZ at Rajgurunagar had to be resized. But there seems to be few takers for the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) promoted SEZ at Jalna. MIDC has decided to pull out of this project and has approached the Board of Approval (BoA) in the commerce ministry with an application to pull out this SEZ. This was meant to be a 40.33-hectare zone for biotechnology companies. However, response from companies have been poor, MIDC officials said. MIDC had already acquired land for the project, but since the project is located in a hilly terrain and the climate was not considered suitable by investors, MIDC was unable to lure companies to come to this region, officials revealed. This is not the case with Maharashtra alone. Another nine promoters of special economic zones in several states including Punjab and Tamil Nadu are seeking permission from the BoA to pull out of their projects in the wake of slump in demand for commercial space. The BoA was to meet on October 5 to discuss this issue. The board will also be taking up application of Mukesh Ambani-promoted Mumbai SEZ for seeking a third extension for validity of its in-principle approval that was granted in 2006. So far, a total of 579 SEZs have been approved and 335 of them are notified nationally. Meanwhile, the MIDC is going ahead with its eight other projects in the state. These include the Rajiv Gandhi Tech Park at Hinjewadi of around 223 hectares, 110-hectare engineering and electronics goods SEZ at Shendra in Aurangabad, 111-hectare engineering SEZ at Khandala in Satara district, 103-hectare textile SEZ at Chincholi in Solapur, a 141-hectare pharma SEZ at Lote Parshuram in Ratnagiri, and 103-hectare engineering SEZ at Phaltan. Two additional SEZs have been proposed in Chakan for a 100-hectare R&D SEZ and a 30 hectare BT SEZ at Ranjangaon. Officials said the Chincholi, Ratnagiri and Phaltan SEZs were in the final stages of notification. (Financial Express 22/10/09) 20,000 acres of land needed to relocate villages: Shobha (4) Bijapur: Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Shobha Karandlaje has said that the Government requires 20,000 acres of land to relocate flood-affected villages in the State. Speaking to presspersons after inspecting progress on the planting of saplings on over 26 acres of land purchased for the shifting of Ukumnal village, in Bijapur taluk, on Saturday, she said that as there was insufficient government land in most gram panchayats in the State, the Government would be left with no choice but to purchase land from farmers. After getting the land, the Government would invite private organisations that had promised to build houses for the flood victims to begin work. Apart from rehabilitation work, the authorities concerned had been instructed to ensure that farm workers were given employment under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). She said the State Government had tried its best to convince the Central team about the losses incurred by farmers and poor people in rural areas and had urged the Centre to release more funds for flood-relief. “The team has promised us that it will make all efforts to convince the Centre on the need to release substantial funds for relief work,” she added. The Minister felicitated farmers Basangouda Patil, Shantabai Patil and Balangouda Patil, who had provided the 26 acres of land to facilitate relocation of Ukumnal village. Ms. Karandlaje said the private

organisations that had come forward to construct houses for the flood-affected people would also be asked to construct houses for the 250 families of Ukumnal village. She said the Government, on its part, would ensure that the village was given basic amenities such as electricity, drinking water supply and proper drainage facility. (The Hindu 25/10/09) Dam displaced people demand justice (4) KHANDWA: Thousands of people displaced by the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dam projects in Madhya Pradesh took to the streets here on Wednesday protesting against “government apathy” towards their rehabilitation and relief. The protesters, waving blue flags and shouting slogans like “No dam without rehabilitation!” had gathered under the banner of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). Besides the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dam oustees, many others affected by the Maheshwar, Upper Beda, Maan, Sardar Sarovar, Tawa and Bargi dams also joined the demonstration, alleging large-scale corruption in the Harda area of the Indira Sagar dam and siphoning off of rehabilitation grants from hundreds of personal savings accounts in post offices and banks. They also alleged that Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC) officials erased the water level marks at the Indira Sagar dam last month so that the correct water level of the dam could no longer be ascertained. “There is no rule of law for the peasants and other poor people displaced by the dams. Despite two High Court orders instructing the Government to provide land to adult sons and adult unmarried daughters of the affected families, the Government is yet to comply,” said activist Chittaroopa Palit. (The Hindu 29/10/09) State weighs Singur before land grab at Sunderbans (4) KOLKATA, 29 OCT: In a bid to preempt resistance from landlosers, particularly the sharecroppers, the state irrigation department has proposed an “exceptional” compensation package, well ahead of the mandatory one, to acquire land for the construction of embankment in the Aila-hit Sunderbans. The proposal for acquiring 5,969 acres of land spread over 200 mouzas in 19 blocks of the North and South 24-Parganas was approved in the state Cabinet today. Since unregistered sharecroppers had primarily led the agitation in Singur, this time the irrigation department has taken initiative to include a financial package for them as well. While the registered sharecroppers would get half of the land value, the unregistered ones would get half the amount being given to the registered sharecroppers. Both registered and unregistered sharecroppers would also get accumulated wages for 340 days under NREGS, for every acre of land. Apart from this, the state irrigation department has decided to provide one-time assistance of Rs 3,700 for construction of houses under Indira Awas Yojana. Although the mandatory package includes only BPL people, the irrigation department has decided to extend it for APL people as well. Moreover, the department has proposed that a separate district level monitoring committee be set up which would look into any additional demand for compensation since it is not “possible to foresee all objections” that can be raised once the process of acquisition begins. It is unusual for the state government to offer such a compensation package for acquiring land for “public purpose” but the Left leaders are unsure about the public mood after losing the Zilla Parishad to the Trinamul Congress in South 24-Parganas in the last panchayat elections. According to an official of the state government, the package which is better than even the one offered in Singur is being given to ensure “the whole process of acquisition does not meet resistance since they intend to start work as soon as possible, given the vulnerability of Sunderbans in the face of another cyclone.” The state government intends to spend nearly Rs 877 crore on acquisition and rehabilitation out of which Rs 368 crore would be required in the current financial year. Although the state government would make the initial contribution the Centre would bear the bulk of the cost for the construction of the permanent embankment. However, the chief minister has asked the state irrigation minister, Mr Subhas Naskar to hold discussions with the land and land reforms minister, Mr Abdur Rezzak Mollah and the Sunderbans affairs minister Mr Kanti Ganguly, both CPI-M leaders from South 24-Parganas, before finalising the compensation package. For the first time since the Panchayat elections, the two sabhadhipatis from Trinamul Congress attended a meeting at Writers’ Buildings to discuss the construction of cyclone shelters in the presence of a representative from the Centre.(Statesman 30/10/09) NBA activists taken into custody, office searched (4) KHANDWA: In a brazen attempt to crush the ongoing public movement for rehabilitation and compensation, the district police, acting allegedly without a warrant, arrested five activists of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) late on Friday evening. The State Human Rights Commission has served notices

on the District Magistrate and SP of Khandwa district. The administration has three days to reply to the notices. Rehmat, Alok, Kailash, Kalu and others were allegedly picked up from the NBA office illegally without a warrant. Four of them were later released while one is still in custody. The police returned soon after and allegedly copied sensitive data from the computers in the NBA office without a search warrant. Earlier on Thursday the police had lathi-charged a peaceful demonstration and chased away the protestors. Senior NBA activists Chittaroopa Palit and Ramkunwar were allegedly beaten up by the police and later were arrested. “The police arrested 19 activists, mostly tribals, and booked them for two cases under Sections 332, 353 (non-bailable), 323, 294, 188 and sections 342, 147 and 452 of the IPC,” said NBA counsel Jitendra Kumar. NBA activists said the State Government had failed to act on the instructions of the High Court, contained in its order of September 23, 2009. The Court had directed that all cheques drawn in favour of displaced people but withheld by the NHDC be paid up immediately. “The arrests are extremely objectionable. The police have detained activists on false charges,” said Medha Patkar of the NBA. “It is nothing but an assault on the basic Constitutional rights and a brazen contempt of court by the State Government,” she said. The Khandwa Superintendent of Police and Collector could not be contacted. (The Hindu 1/11/09) In Ratnagiri, another Singur in the making? (4) Jaitapur (Ratnagiri), November 02, 2009 Oh God, come to our rescue, save our livelihood. We don’t want the project to come up on our land. Take it away from here. Please grant us our request.” Sitting in the courtyard of the Anjaneshwar temple in Mithgawane village, Ratnagiri district, around 2,000 villagers chant this prayer at least once a week. The ‘unwanted’ project is the proposed nuclear power plant eight km from Jaitapur village. Over the past year, the temple has doubled up as a meeting ground — cutting across caste, class and religion — for the villagers who all face a common problem. The 938-hectare land spread across five villages — Madban, Mithgawane, Karel, Niweli and Ansure in Ratnagiri district —has lush paddy fields, mango orchards, and acres of grass for cattle to graze. And it’s poised to house six pressurised heavy water reactors imported from France to generate 10,000 mega watt of power for Maharashtra. The plant, 450 km south of Mumbai, is the outcome of the 2008 Indo-French agreement, India’s first international collaboration after the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group lifted restrictions on civil nuclear cooperation. At the temple meeting, prayers are followed by discussions of the project. “A public meeting anywhere else in the village will invite police censure,” said Srikrishna Mayekar, a retired headmaster. “One thing is clear, no one wants the power plant.” The simmering discontent, left unaddressed, could lead to a Singur-like flare-up against the Nano plant or the protests to the Reliance Special Economic Zone in Raigad. C.B. Jain, project manager, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, said the project would not be affected by the protests. “We will go ahead with the project and it will be as per schedule. Unlike Singur, which was a private project, the nuclear plant is a central government project. It is in the interest of the people of India. Even the high court has dismissed their petition.” “The plant is being built at the cost of our livelihood. How long will the compensation last? Our fields are our only source of income,” said Anil Tilotkar, a farmer from Niweli village. The state has started the land acquisition process, and the 5,000-odd affected villagers are determined not to give up their land. On October 15 and October 27, about 187 villagers from Niweli rejected the compensation cheques. Many villagers allege that the government is also offering a measly compensation of Rs 3 per sq feet as compared to the market rate of up to Rs 10,000 per sq feet in Jaitapur. “They can negotiate and we are open to a dialogue with the villagers,” Jain said. In 10 days, the villagers hope to file a petition in the Supreme Court. A rally is being planned in Mumbai to draw the government’s attention and to garner public support. On November 24, the Janhit Seva Samiti, which comprises affected villagers, is organising a seminar to explain why they are opposed to the plant. Pravin Gavandkar is making copies of CDs that have information on the adverse effects of radioactivity on villages near the Rajasthan atomic power station and the Jaduguda uranium mines in Jharkhand. The government is still to hold a public hearing, mandatory for environmental clearance. “We just don’t want the plant here,” said Prajali Adiverkar (40). Her little patch of land in Manbad yields about 1,000 kg of rice a year — just enough to feed her family of 10. “This is all we have. We will have to beg on the streets.” (Hindustan Times 3/11/09)

SEZs are special exploitation zones: Patkar (4) MANGALORE: Special observers at the people's audit of Mangalore Special Economic Zone, Narmada Bachao Andolan Founder Medha Patkar and Magsaysay winner Aruna Roy at Bajpe near here, on

Sunday slammed the concept of SEZs as means to the nation's prosperity. Organized by the Krishi Bhoomi Samrakshana Samiti and Karavali Karnataka Janaabhivriddhi Vedike, the audit with a panel of eminent individuals listened to testimonies of those affected by the MSEZ project. Medha Patkar described SEZs as nothing short of Special Exploitation Zones. While the NDA government first ushered in the concept of SEZ, the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, and subsequently the Communist ruled West Bengal governments implemented it in their respective states. The UPA government is no different in that it too only supported and encouraged forces supporting SEZs, she said. Political parties despite their seemingly opposite ideologies are one and the same when it comes to SEZ issue, she said. Observing that Dakshina Kannada has bountiful natural resources, she said projects such as SEZ should not be allowed to destroy the same. The rehabilitation process offered by promoters of the SEZ amounts to displacement of culture and is a singular blow on the self-reliance of the displaced. While money and political power has succeeded in getting requisite clearances for the first phase of the Mangalore SEZ, Medha said there is hope that the second phase would not come through. This, she said, stemmed from the fact that the people were now more aware and vigilant against the hazards posed by the project. The farmers and the gullible have been cheated enough in the first phase and this should not happen again, she noted. Aruna Roy, Magsaysay awardee and head of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana, hailed the concept of people's audit as the real means of ushering in democracy as this resulted in critical analysis of government policies. Roy also exhorted the gathering to ensure that there be no more exploitation of natural resources of the land in the name of setting up SEZs, which she observed was the major source of livelihood for the locals. (Times of India 8/11/09) Nation-wide protest planned against Orissa SEZ (4) Bangalore: The POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samithi (PPSS) has threatened to launch a nation-wide protest against the proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in a tribal area in Orissa during the visit of South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak as chief guest for next year’s Republic Day. South Korea-based POSCO had entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Orissa in 2005 for establishing a plant on 4,000 acres of land inhabited by tribal people. The land is the only source of livelihood for the inhabitants, most of whom are farmers and fishermen. With the South Korean President expected to lay the foundation stone of the plant in the disputed area, leader of PPSS Abhay Sahu said “We are not going to allow POSCO or the government to take even an inch of our land,” said Mr. Sahu. “We are not going to retreat... Let the Government deploy paramilitary forces. The anti-POSCO men and women are ready to lay down their lives,” he said while delivering a talk here on Saturday. Citing the extent of damage the proposed plant would cause, Mr. Sahu, said that around 4,000 families would be directly displaced and lakhs of villagers living in the downstream area of Jatadhar river, would be deprived of their only source of livelihood — farming and fishing. Jagadish Chandra, a supporter of PPSS, accused POSCO of making efforts to influence media, judiciary, police and the Government. (The Hindu 9/11/09) Medha Patkar terms SEZs special exploitation zones (4) Bangalore: “SEZ is not Special Economic Zone, but Special Exploitation Zone. This unreal state of development will have an immediate impact on food security and housing rights of the middle class and slum dwellers,” said Medha Patkar, social activist. She was speaking a public lecture “SEZs, Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) and the development needs of India” organised by The Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, here on Monday. Ms. Patkar said that the SEZ Act does not conceal the objective of creating foreign territories within the country. “They want to bring in a foreign paradigm of development by denying the local communities their right to resources. There is no actual data on the real loss of livelihood. These issues must be heard by the larger civil society. We are all guaranteed the right to be planners ourselves. Yet, even the intellectuals and academicians among us do not assert our right for planned development,” she said. Aruna Roy, social activist, who spoke earlier, said public audits have revealed that people are kept in the dark about land acquisition. “Revenue records have been fudged so that lands can be acquired. By setting up SEZs, (the powers-that-be) are creating gloom, misery, sowing seeds of violence and destroying lives and livelihoods,” she said. She said that in Mangalore, 20 per cent of all land was going towards setting up of various SEZs. “What is left for the people? There should be a process where people’s voices are heard. If we do not have transparency and accountability, power will never be truthful,” she added. The public hearing was held after a daylong review meeting organised to critically

examine SEZs and PCPIRs in a series of people’s audits across various States in the country. (The Hindu 10/11/09) Acquisition on for aerotropolis (4) MOHALI: An urban hub would dot the area surrounding the upcoming international airport in the form of an aerotropolis. The second in Punjab after Ludhiana, this activity cluster would house commercial and residential areas and will be like an ‘airport city’. Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has started the process of acquiring 770 acre along the international airport-Chhat road for the purpose. Revenue officials said notices under Section 6 (declaration that land is required for public purpose) of Land Acquisition Act had already been served and another one under Section 9 (notice to persons interested) would soon be issued, after which the final award would be announced. Sources said the aerotropolis would have residential and commercial areas along the road connecting airport with Chhat village in Zirakpur. Area would be acquired under land pooling scheme, the sources added. Residential and commercial areas would come up along 300 metre on both sides of the 200-foot-wide & 6.9-km long road. GMADA proposed the project near the international airport after considering that it would provide better business opportunities. Considered an important venture of the state government as part of its aim to project Mohali as a future city, the aerotropolis would start from sector 66B-82 junction up to Chhat village near Zirakpur. As far as the commercial area is concerned, the plots would go up to four acre each. GMADA land acquisition collector and district revenue officer Ramesh Garg said notices under section 9 would be issued after which the decision would be forwarded to state government for announcing the final award. GMADA officials said coming up of the international airport would convert the surrounding area into a hub of economic activity due to better scope for cargo service, car rentals, hotels and retail business. The project would see high-density development of hotels, restaurants, business centres, retail spaces, convention and exhibition centres, entertainment centres and residential complexes, they added. Punjab government has already planned the country’s second aerotropolis at Ludhiana after the one at Durgapur. (Times of India 12/11/09) Mamata favours rail coach factory at Singur (4) KOLKATA: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday pitched for setting up a railway coach factory at the abandoned Nano project site at "I think a railway coach factory should be set up at Singur. It can come up on 600 acres of the 1,000 acres of land acquired at Singur. It will be a national project," she told reporters. "If land leased out to the Tatas can be cited as a barrier to setting up a rail coach factory, how come the state government approach the BHEL to set up a power plant there?" Banerjee wondered. "Try to get the information whether BHEL is really coming (to set up the power plant at Singur)," she said. Meanwhile, in an apparent reference to the proposal for setting up a power plant by BHEL, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee said "both the Centre and the state government will work together".(Times of India 16/11/09) Stop work on Maheshwar dam: NBA (4) Bhopal, Nov 16: The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) the other day claimed that Union Minister of State for Environment Jairam Ramesh in a letter to the Madhya Pradesh government had raised grave questions over the 400-MW Maheshwar Hydroelectric Power Project therefore work on the dam should be stopped forthwith. ''It is clear that environment clearance conditions were flouted. A survey of backwaters and reservoir level must be conducted. Farmland, houses and plots should be provided and a total rehabilitation scheme drafted,'' NBA spokesman Alok Agarwal told media here. On October 29, Ramesh' letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan mentioned flagrant violation of the conditions, Agarwal said while adding that the missive also said that work on the dam progressed sans any rehabilitation scheme or related work. ''The communication states that a private company was awarded environmental clearance on May 1, 2001,'' he said. (Central Chronicle 17/11/09) Govt's refusal on land reforms worries Left (4) PATNA: Four Left parties' Left Coordination Committee (LCC) has expressed its serious concern over Nitish Kumar government's refusal to implement D Bandopadhyay Commission recommendations on land reforms and bataidari (sharecropping). The LCC constituents -- CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc and RSP -- at a meeting held here on Saturday, decided to stage daylong joint dharna to press its demands on December 16. The demands included implementation of Bandopadhyay Commission land reforms

recommendations. In a significant development, the LCC constituents also decided to lend moral support to the CPI(ML)-sponsored Bihar Bandh call on November 24. It decided to launch a phasewise movement on the issue of price rise, food security crisis, corruption and commission. Meanwhile, a two-day convention of CPI affiliated AITUC started here on Saturday. The convention is aimed at mobilizing working women of organized and unorganised sectors to participate in AITUC-sponsored Working Women's March to Parliament on December 4.Senior AITUC leader Amarjeet Kaur, in her speech at the convention, said that it was for the first time in the history of Indian trade union movement that a trade union has given a call for working women's march to Parliament. She demanded that the Anganwadi Sevikas and Sahayikas be made regular government servants, pension for women working in unorganized sector after their attaining the age of 60 years, provision of creches at the work site, and guarantee of 200 days work to the unorganized sector women workers under NREGA. (Times of India 22/11/09) Land Reforms Bill to be withdrawn (4) KOLKATA, 25 NOV: The West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill 2006 which was introduced and referred to the Select Committee on 27 November 2006 will be withdrawn in the Winter Session of the Assembly, beginning from 30 November, said Mr Abdur Rezzak Mollah, state land reforms minister and chairman of the committee. But according to Mr Syed Masiah, government chief whip, the report of the select committee is scheduled to be placed during the last session but it was not tabled. Asked about the fate of the Bill, he said, the chairman may withdraw the Bill or ask for more time for an extension of the Bill or place the report after discussion with the committee members. The Bill was sent to the Select Committee as it sought to remove the land ceiling to facilitate industrialisation. There was also a proposal to remove restriction on selling of Adivasi land, but with certain riders. Apart from this Bill, six other pending Bills will be discussed in the House and 13 new Bills will be introduced within 10 days of Winter Session. The Opposition leaders, have, however, objected to it and questioned as to why the state government is in such a hurry to table all such Bills in such a short period of time. The Speaker Mr HA Halim said both the Opposition and the ruling party demanded a discussion of escalating prices of essential commodities. He said if the motion on Lalgarh was moved in the House it may have a discussion on it. The state government is also seeking to impose an additional cess on motor tax to build up a fund for the welfare of the transport workers. The state finance minister, Mr Asim Dasgupta was evasive in giving details, merely saying that the cess would not be imposed on passenger transport like private buses although the Bill, West Bengal Motor Transport Workers’ Welfare Cess Bill, 2009 is aimed at providing social security to transport workers including drivers, conductors and helpers of private buses. (Statesman 27/11/09) People’s movements decry anti-people SEZs (4) MUMBAI: The former finance secretary and former Indian ambassador to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), S.P. Shukla, has demanded that the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act be repealed. Mr. Shukla was speaking at a national convention against SEZs organised at Gorai village on the outskirts of Mumbai on November 25 and 26. came together to resist the anti-people model of development that SEZs represented. Farmers, fishermen, labourers, activists, artists, and academicians from 13 States participated in the convention. Mr. Shukla said India was following the Australian and American way to becoming a superpower. He pointed out that those countries “had blood on their hands,” as their model of development involved decimating the disempowered local population consisting of Aborigines and Red Indians respectively. “Why do you want to be a superpower?” he asked, indicating that a pro-people model of development was needed in place of the SEZ Act that disregarded peoples rights. Till date, 1046 SEZs have been approved by the Union government, including 206 in Maharashtra that would require over 1.5 lakh acres of land. The convention pointed out that the track record of these zones showed that instead of increasing employment and generating infrastructure for public good, they were private land grab exercises for the profit of corporates. Social activist Medha Patkar said, “These nations [of corporates] within nations are a threat to the sovereignty of the country.” Recounting the experience of the Reliance Maha Mumbai SEZ in Raigad spread over 35,000 acres, Ulka Mahajan of the Sarvahara Jan Andolan said, “The compensation offered was Rs.10 lakh per acre, while the market price of just the adjacent land was Rs.1.2 crore.” (The Hindu 1/12/09) 15,000 families displaced over 5 years in Orissa: Govt (4)

Updated on Wednesday, December 02, 2009, 23:20 IST Tags:15, 000 families, Orissa Bhubaneswar: Nearly 15,000 families were displaced from their homeland for setting up of industries, irrigation projects and other developmental activities in Orissa during the last five years, state government said today. Replying to a question in the Assembly, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S N Patro said that out of 14,949 families, at least 8,591 were displaced for setting up of industries, 5,882 people had to lose their homeland for different irrigation projects. Similarly, 476 families were displaced in Balasore district for establishment of a firing point in Jaydev Kasaba area. Stating that the displaced families were being rehabilitated on the basis of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy-2006, the minister said that the highest number of families (6378) were displaced for operation of four coal mines and Jindal Steel and Power company in Angul district. Of the 30 districts of the state, the displaced families belonged to 15 districts. Tribal-dominated Nuapada district followed Angul with 3594 families being displaced for construction of Lower Indra Irrigation Project, he said.(Zee News 2/12/09) Posco seeks more time for steel SEZ (4) New Delhi, 6 Dec: Posco India has sought more time from the Centre for implementing Rs 54,000 crore SEZ project at Jagatsinghpur in Orissa, as the South Korean steel giant could not get land due to protests by tribals. Due to certain issues in the acquisition of large land for a multi-product SEZ, Posco India has not been able to meet the minimum land requirement for the SEZ,” an official in the commerce ministry said. The inter-ministerial Board of Approval will consider the Posco request at its meeting on 15 December here. The company, which is also facing regulatory hurdles in leasing iron ore mines, has already been given extension twice since October 2006, when it received in-principle approval for 12 million-tonnes project. Posco India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of world's fifth largest steel maker, has conveyed to the Commerce Ministry that it is “committed to the project” despite the problems of land acquisition. Bulk of the about 4,000 acres falls under the forest land for which the company received clearance from the Green Bench of the Supreme Court last year. However, since tribal in the area are protesting against the land acquisition, the project has not been able to move forward. According to company sources, it plans a ground-breaking ceremony next month. Keen on fast clearance of the project, the steel ministry has also written to the Orissa government to help Posco resolve the land issue. (Statesman 7/12/09) 2,376 families to get land title deeds (4) KANNUR: As many as 2,376 landless families will be assigned 10 cents each of excess land at a titledeed distribution function at Taliparamba here on Monday. District Collector V.K. Balakrishnan said at a press conference here on Friday that 450 Land Tribunal title-deeds would also be distributed at the function, to be held at the Taliparamba taluk office premises from 10 a.m. It would be inaugurated by Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran, Devaswom Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran and Electricity Minister A.K. Balan would participate in the function, he said. Mr. Balakrishnan said the landless families had been selected from 44,045 applications from different villages in the district. Steps for assigning 643 hectares of forest land among Scheduled Tribe families under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 were in their final stages. The Scheduled Tribe families in 33 tribal colonies in the Kolayad, Patyam and Chittariparamba panchayats would be transferred their right to the land, he said. As per the Act, those forest dwellers who had been transferred their forest rights should protect the forest and its biodiversity and other ecologically sensitive areas nearby, he added. (The Hindu 12/12/09) Railways will inspect Singur land after govt takes possession' (4) KOLKATA: Trianmool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday questioned the West Bengal government's request to the Railways to inspect the land at Singur for a coach making factory and sought to know how her ministry could do so when it was still in possession of Tatas. "When the land is still with the Tatas, what right has the state government to ask us to inspect the land?" Banerjee told reporters here a day after chief secretary A M Chakraborty wrote to Railway Board for inspection of the abandoned Tata Nano project site. "I will go only when I have the right. You tell us whether the land belongs to you. Under whose possession is the land lying? It is with the Tatas," Banerjee, the railway minister, said. "I am saying this as a Trinamool Congress leader and not as railway minister," she added. The Railway Board had earlier asked for a 'dispute free' land at Singur for setting up an integrated coach factory of

international standard. The lease of the 997.11 acre land held by the Tatas is due for renewal next April. (Times of India 12/12/09) Rehabilitation package for IDPs in Assam (4) Guwahati: The Assam government on Friday announced a Rs. 60-crore package for the rehabilitation of 11,092 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who have been staying in make-shift relief camps in lower Assam’s Kokrajhar, Chirang and Bongaigaon districts for the past 11 to 16 years. Each family will get a grant of Rs. 50,000 and a house. These families were displaced from their ancestral villages during the Bodo-Muslim riots in 1993 and the Bodo-Adivasi ethnic clashes in Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon districts in 1996 and 1998. The announcement was made by Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Bhumidhar Barman in the Assembly amidst a noisy walkout by the members of the Opposition Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF).(The Hindu 12/12/09) SP warns Mamata against acquiring land in UP for rail corridor (4) New Delhi, December 18, 2009: Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, who backed Mamata Banerjee in Singur agitation, ton Friday warned the Railway Minister against acquiring land in eastern Uttar Pradesh for the corridor project, saying there would be "blood bath" against the move. Raising the issue during Zero Hour the Railways move to acquire 10,000 hectares for freight corridor project, Singh said he had backed Banerjee when she opposed the land acquisition in Singur in West Bengal. He said now that Banerjee as Railway Minister was acquiring land at Chandoli, the Left should support the SP in opposing the move. Singh said the land involved in Chandoli was much more than in Singur. He said Congress leaders in the state were agitating against the move. They should instead ask their government at the Centre not to go ahead with the land acquisition, he said. "If land is acquired against the wishes of the people, farmers will resort to blood bath", Singh warned. Through another mention, Manohar Joshi (Shiv Sena) said Marathi speaking people in the border districts were facing discrimination in Karnataka. Joshi said his party members took up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday requesting the Centre to call a meeting of the Chief Ministers of the two states to resolve the long pending border dispute. He said if the issue was not resolved, his party would launch an agitation. When his party colleague Bharatkumar Raut also wanted to speak on the subject, the Chair did not allow him. Joshi and Raut then walked out in protest. (Hindustan Times 18/12/09) Farmers continue protest against land acquisition by GIDC (4) More than 500 farmers of villages in Sanand block today took out a rally here in protest against the land acquisition by Gujarat industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) for setting up a huge industrial zone in the area. After the rally, representatives of farmers submitted a memorandum to the district collector submitting that they should not be forced to part with their fertile agriculture lands for industry. It may be noted that GIDC has initiated process to acquire over 5000 acre of land in villages like Haripura, Charal, Bol, Siyawada near Sanand where Tata's Nano car plant is under construction. "Over 500 farmers whose lands will be acquired are present in the rally for protesting the state government's move for acquisition of agriculture lands in our villages," Pankaj Vaghela, a district panchayat member from Sanand said. He said that no farmer wants to give his land due to irrigation provided from the Narmada canals, which enables them to reap three crops a year. According to him, major crops are paddy, wheat, vegetables and fodder for the cattle. (Business Standard 23/12/09) Land Act needs to be scrapped: Plan panel (4) Kolkata: The Land Acquisition Act of 1894 needs to be scrapped and replaced with an alternative where all of the stakeholders’ interests are taken care of, said Arun Maira, member of the planning commission. The Act made during British rule is a "misfit" and unlike the British regime many of the projects that are coming up are held by private companies. According to Maira, “if the value of the project goes up price of land also go up and people who benefit from that are the shareholders of the corporation. There can be thousands of them but they are not the billion people of India.” Maira pointed out Singur as a "bad instance of land acquisition". “That law is 100 years old. Because of Singur and few other places it has become a public debate. Therefore, we are looking into it for a more appropriate solution,” he said. “If the government is acquiring something at a low price, who is the beneficiary at the end of the day? We have to recognize that. The government should not do anything by depriving people for the private interest,” Maira added. Maintaining that private companies should directly negotiate with landowners, he said,

“private companies must themselves be responsible for the fairness of the process.” According to him, the land acquisition at Salboni by Jindal Steel Works is an example where landowners’ interests were kept in mind and can be considered as a solution. “…it is interesting that in Bengal you have both bad and good.” The Planning Commission also wants to factor in certain issues that bother the industry today. For instance, the state government should only intervene in a case where 90% of the land has already been acquired for a particular project, if there is a need. "We have seen that on many cases some people will hold on from parting with their land for a project which will be of importance to them. In such cases, it is a suggestion that the government would intervene and facilitate the takeover since the last few people holding on to their land is doing so to get better prices," Maira said. (Business Standard 23/12/09)