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Farmers and activists in Raigad district, Maharashtra, were in a jubilant mood last weekend as they welcomed a Supreme Court verdict that makes it almost impossible for Reliance Industries to set up its SEZ on their land
A Supreme Court judgment dismissing Reliance Industries’ special leave petition seeking a stay on land acquisition proceedings for its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Raigad district of Maharashtra was described by many agitating farmers as the “highpoint” of their four-year struggle. The court’s refusal to stay the land acquisition process that otherwise had to conclude by June 8, 2009, meant the project is close to being scrapped because of the failure to acquire land within the stipulated period. Against a requirement of over 10,000 hectares, the company has acquired only 2,151 hectares. The Maha Mumbai Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti, which led the agitation, called it a major and historic victory. “The court’s decision is a first of its kind. The verdict has shown that a farmer can fight a big corporate house. It has set a good precedent,” the Samiti said in a statement. “It is a big, big victory for the sons-of-the-soil who did not want to lose their fertile land to an SEZ,” Ulka Mahajan, local leader of the Samiti, said. “After the Supreme Court verdict, it will not be possible for Reliance to set up the SEZ on the proposed land. If they want to go ahead, they will have to purchase 70% of the land and that will not be possible as the farmers are not ready to give up their land,” she added. Farmer-activist Govardhan Patil said: “The Supreme Court verdict has come as a big victory for us and we are right now celebrating. But our democratic fight (against the SEZ) will continue even though the SEZ is now in jeopardy and runs the risk of being scrapped.” Many locals like him have given the project a hostile reception and refused to part with their land. This led to frequent clashes with government and company representatives. NGOs organised agitations and the atmosphere was further vitiated with the entry of the political class. Two years ago, the Maharashtra government imposed Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894, under which it could purchase land from local farmers for the SEZ. Provisions in this section stipulate that land acquisition must be completed within a year. It can be extended for another year, but if the acquisition is still not complete after two years the process lapses. The company had filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking for a stay on this section. This would have nullified the whole process and automatically given the company an extension. Senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi opposed the move on behalf of the farmer landowners. Entertaining such a plea would defeat the whole concept of an SEZ, Dwivedi said. An SEZ could not come up on less than 25% of the contemplated land area. Farmers who had given consent for the sale of their lands are in a minority; the SEZ could not be built on a tiny unviable patch of land. Most farmers were opposed to the project, Dwivedi concluded. Reliance pleaded for a stay on grounds that compensation awarded to farmers had not been passed within the stipulated period of two years from the date of notification of the acquisition -- June 8, 2007. It contended that if the consent awards had not been passed by this date, the entire acquisition proceedings would lapse causing grave financial loss to the company that had already invested Rs 600 crore in the project. The company also assured the apex court that it was willing to present the necessary documents before the land acquisition authorities to show that the land had been acquired properly. But the division bench, comprising Justice B Sudarshan Reddy and Justice Aftab Alam, refused to entertain the plea. The court’s decision brings down the curtains on a nearly four-year saga of political intrigue, business rivalry and strident opposition from farmers. It also raises serious questions about the fate of the project, conceived as a grand attempt to attract FDI and develop the region, stretching south from Mumbai into one of Asia’s busiest and biggest economic zones. The project was to be located close to the upcoming port at Rewas, in Maharashtra. Reliance Industries was expected to acquire land for the 11,000-hectare multi-product trade zone project, touted to be the country’s largest SEZ. The project was being set up by a company called Mumbai SEZ Ltd across 45 villages in Raigad district. The company managed to acquire only 10% of the land it required, in scattered patches, as protests broke out in 22 villages in Pen tehsil stalling the process midway. Last year, the state government held a referendum on the project in the affected villages; the outcome of this has never been revealed. The company was offering compensation of Rs 20 lakh per hectare and had taken power of attorney from a few farmers. Activists allege that the methods used were illegal. “There are complaints that most of the farmers who have given Reliance Industries power of attorney are fake. They are not the real owners of the land,” said Vaishali Patil, an activist fighting against the SEZ. When contacted, a spokesperson for Mumbai SEZ Ltd declined to comment but hinted at the option of approaching the Union government’s Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZs to extend the deadline beyond June 8. The Maharashtra government though is unlikely to come to the rescue of Mumbai SEZ Ltd. Maharashtra Revenue Minister and former Minister for Co-operation, Relief and Rehabilitation Patangrao Kadam said the government would not interfere in the acquisition process between the buyer (Reliance) and the owners of the land. Principal Secretary (Revenue) J P Dange said the government would take a decision depending on the options available. “The government is yet to study the Supreme Court ruling,” he said. But other senior officials in the revenue and rehabilitation departments were unanimous that the Mumbai SEZ was heading towards a “big legal mess”. Source: PTI, June 8, 2009
The Hindu, June 7, 2009
The Economic Times, June 6, 2009
DNA, June 5, 2009
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