land acquisition/sez & displacement – 2011 - Indian Social Institute

India Economic Forum on Monday. Representatives of industry criticised many provisions of the law,including its mandate on purchase price to be several times the current market rate, the provision thatbuyers are responsible for rehabilitation and resettlement of those displaced, including giving them ashare of equity or jobs for 26 years. “We believe it is not fair. If there is forcible land acquisition, it shouldbe difficult and expensive,” said Priya Hiranandani-Vandrevala, Founder and Chairman, Hirco Group,said, adding that it was unfair that the same provisions on pricing and rehabilitation should apply whenland is sold voluntarily. The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, applies if morethan 50 acres of urban land or 100 acres of rural land is being acquired. Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman andManaging Director, Hindustan Construction Company, planned its proposal that the consent of 80 percent of those likely to be affected should be achieved before the purchase takes place, explaining thatland ownership is so fragmented and titles so unclear that this provision can extend the process of landpurchase indefinitely. Ratnakar Yashwant Gaikwad, Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra,asserted that most projects were built on marginal, unirrigated and infertile lands, and the only way tocreate jobs to absorb the excess rural workforce was to expand the manufacturing sector. PrashantBangur, Executive President, Shree Cement, said the Bill needed to inject an element of certainty andfinality in land buyers' responsibilities, arguing that it is counterproductive to guarantee a job to thedisplaced for 26 years, as they would have no motivation to be productive. Mr. Gulabchand demandedthat the land acquisition bill should be transferred from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of RuralDevelopment to the Ministry of Law. He also argued that the onus of rehabilitation should not be on thebuyer but on the government. “If the bill in its present form is passed, there will be no development in thecountry for the next 100 years,” he said. (The Hindu 14/11/11)Only 18 of 104 approved SEZs in state operational (4)MUMBAI: The Centre has circulated a comprehensive paper on proposed policy changes relating to landrequirement for SEZs. "We have to submit our suggestions to the Centre," a senior state bureaucrat toldTOI. He said if the proposed changes were accepted, then Maharashtra would be the biggest beneficiary,since quite a large number of SEZs had been held up owing to non-availability of contiguous land.According to a senior bureaucrat, a month ago when the ministry of commerce reviewed the SEZ policy, itwas found that a mere 143 of the 583 approved SEZs had commenced operations. "The Centre broughtin the comprehensive policy in 2006, mainly to boost exports, but it appears that during the last five years,the performance of most of the SEZs was dismal and quite a large number of entrepreneurs havesubmitted applications for denotification," he said. In Maharashtra, out of 143 approved proposals, 27have submitted applications for withdrawal on the ground that in view of the changed economic situation,there was no scope for development of SEZs. The Centre found that non-availability of non-doublecropped, contiguous and vacant land, lack of attractiveness in the SEZ in face of the changed fiscalregime, absence of single window system, large number of states not having an SEZ policy or Act toenable provision of the benefits envisaged under the SEZ act, issue of constraints leading to slow pace ofdevelopment of infrastructure within the SEZs and complete lack of external support were the mainreasons for dismal performance of the SEZs and spurt in number of applications for denotification. "Inview of the piquant situation, the Centre has now proposed potential reforms in the SEZ policy andoperating framework. In fact, it has sought the view of all state governments on the proposed reforms toensure that SEZs continue to attract investments," the bureaucrat said. On the performance of theoperational SEZs, the bureaucrat said Gujarat, with a total export of Rs 1.47 lakh crore leads the list,followed by Karnataka (Rs 46,718 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 43,704 crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 19,480crore). Significantly, out of the 104 approved SEZs in Maharashtra, only 18 have gone into production,against Gujarat's 45 approved and 13 in production. (Times of India 15/11/11)SEZs to play major role in development of Andhra Pradesh : Chief Minister (4)Hyderabad, Nov 15 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has said that SpecialEconomic Zones (SEZs) will be playing a major role in the development of the state and in the next threeyears an employment of 50 lakh will be generated in the state. Speaking after gaving away annualExports Awards to the EOUs, SEZ units and SEZ Developers, yesterday, for their performance for theyears 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10, organised by Vishakapatnam SEZ and Export Promotion Councilfor EOUS and SEZs (EPCES) Regional Council, here he said to understand the problems and challengesfaced by SEZs, he would be visiting personally to the SEZs very shortly so that the government to supportin all possible ways. Around 84 awards were given to 45 companies for their excellence in terms of