Chautala to launch agitation for cancelling SEZ

New Delhi,May 5 (UNI) Former Haryana Chief Minister and Indian National Lok Dal(INLD) Chief Om Prakash Chautala today said his party would launch an agitation to get annulled the Rs 25,000 crore multi-product Special Economic Zone(SEZ) being promoted near Gurgaon by Reliance Industries in joint venture with Hayrana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation(HSIIDC).

If the state government continued to be indifferent towards the growing dissent against the 'usurption' of farmers land by the SEZ , the Nandigram-like situation could also develop there, Mr Chautala said.

Accompanied by former state minister Sampat Singh, the former Chief Minister said the B.S. Hooda government was procuring 'false affidavits' to justify that there was no resentment among the agriculturists against the acquiring of their land holdings.

In fact, the SEZ was meant for real estate business by the promoters and ruling Congress leaders in the state. And, the farmers, majority of them of small and marginal category, had been deprived of their livelihood by paying them a pittiance than what they deserved. Mr Chautala said.

The agreement was signed last year between Reliance Ventures, a subsidiary of RIL, and HSIIDC in the presence of Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

With an announcment to develop the SEZ as a world-class hub for manufacturing, services and agri-based industries in the most competitive environment.The SEZ will have provisions for a cargo airport and a 2,000 MW power plant.

The big-size SEZ spread over 3,000 acres,is on a state highway leading from Gurgaon to Pataudi near Delhi-Jaipur national highway.

The project has been conceived as an integrated, self-contained, industrial township with a flyover on NH-8. Around 2,400 units will be set up.

This zone will have no restrictive export-import regulations, ensure trade liberalisation, simplify procedures related to the administration of foreign trade and provide incentives to certain export categories to generate exports. It is to be a duty-free and a deemed foreign territory, and no licence will be required for imports. The import of capital goods, raw materials, consumables and procurement from the domestic market will be exempt from custom duty and central excise.

Ambani said Reliance would invest Rs 25,000 crore in the project and seek investments from third parties.

This SEZ is expected to create five lakh jobs and revenues up to Rs 10,000 crore, which will improve the per capita income of Haryana," Mr Hooda claimed.

UNI