Special Real Estate Zones

Andhra Pradesh could well be the next site of contestation against Special Economic Zones (SEZs), going by the growing protests by farmers over the manner in which huge chunks of land have been — or were sought to be — taken away. It is not industrialisation per se but what is happening in the name of promoting SEZs that is certainly cause for concern. Close to a 100 SEZs have already been approved in the State and an equal number are in the pipeline, but a deeper analysis would reveal that the intent behind these projects is not exactly the furthering of what the special zones are meant for — encouraging export-oriented units and thereby generating additional employment and foreign earnings. One is inclined to believe that the hue and cry being raised by citizens’ organisations and opposition parties over the manner in which the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government has gone about sanctioning SEZs is not without basis.

With close to 50 per cent of the approved projects clustered in and around Hyderabad, the rationale behind locating them here has more to do with the high value of the lands, so much so that they are being described as “Special Real Estate Zones” rather than SEZs. In one case, a huge chunk of land allotted within the capital for what was described as an IT SEZ has now more or less been converted into a group of residential/ commercial complexes. In the case of another SEZ, not far from Hyderabad, the oustees have been staging protests for months over the paltry compensation paid to them but the government has done nothing to redress their grievances. On the other hand, the promoters have so far not achieved anything concrete in terms of the projects supposed to be developed, giving rise to doubts that the land was taken for a purpose different from that stated.

Elsewhere, in the coastal belt, fishermen and farmers are blockading roads and holding dharnas over the proposed “Coastal Corridor'”which envisages highly polluting chemical units along the coast, unmindful of the fact that they would seriously endanger the environment apart from displacing thousands of people. The sooner this government realises the need for corrective measures, the better. Two key aspects need to be borne in mind: One, ensuring that only those projects conforming to stated criteria are cleared and those displaced on that count are adequately compensated; two, the projects are closely monitored to ensure that their objectives are not compromised at any stage.