Special Economic Zones SEZ Controversy

Land, especially agricultural land is a very sensitive issue in India. There are millions of people
whose livelihood depends on agricultural land. But the introduction of SEZ in India has resulted
in the dispossession of agricultural land and has affected the livelihood of farmer at large. In
against of this, farmers first protested to safeguard their interests through litigation and court
cases challenging the establishment of SEZs. But later on, the resistance against SEZ in India
became massive when political parties also joined the farmers.
Jamnagar Incidence
In November 2006, farmers from the Jamnagar District in Gujarat moved the High Court of
Gujarat and later to the Supreme Court in order to challenge the setting-up of a 10,000-acre
(approx. 4,000-ha) SEZ by Reliance Infrastructure. They claimed that the acquisition of large
tracts of agricultural land in the villages of the district not only violated the Land Acquisition Act
of 1894, but was also in breach of the public interest. This led the Government to consider
putting a ceiling on the maximum land area that can be acquired for multi-product zones and
decide to go slow in approving SEZs.
Nandigram Violence
The Nandigram violence is another famous incidence related to SEZ controversy. Nandigram is a
rural area in Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located about 70
km south-west of Kolkata, on the south bank of the Haldi River, opposite the industrial city of
Haldia.
In 2007 the West Bengal government decided to allow Salim Group to set up a chemical hub at
Nandigram under the SEZ policy. Farmers of that village were against it. So, on the order of the
Left Front government on 14 March, 2007, more than 3,000 heavily armed police stormed the
Nandigram area. The main objective was to remove the protestors in order to expropriate 10,000
acres of land for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be developed by the Indonesian-based Salim
Group. During this incidence, police shot dead at least 14 villagers and wounded 70 more
including children and women.
The above given examples show the controversies associated with SEZs. No doubts that these
commercial hubs started with a lot of premature praise and have now became a bone of
contention which is readily exploited by the political forces to the detriment of the peasants, who
fear losing their means of livelihood
List of Special Economic Zones notified after coming into force of the SEZ Act as on 24th
January 2008: Please refer:
http://www.eximguru.com/content/exim/sez/units-india-list.pdf