Stop misplaced 'development' policies: Patkar

Mumbai, July 23 (UNI) Leading rights activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar led a protest meeting here today, highlighting displacement of people due to misplaced 'Development' policies such as the formation of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Maharashtra.

Earlier, hundreds of displaced hawkers, peasants, labourers, Project Affected Persons (PAPs) and civil liberty groups from various parts of the state were stopped by the city police at Sandhurst Road and were brought to Azad Maidan in South Mumbai, when the activists tried to organise a rally.

At Azad Maidan, Ms Patkar pointed out that development and displacement were the two sides of the same coin. ''To displace people from their livelihood such as to evict urban poor from their homes, taking away fertile lands of farmers and tribals, depriving fishermen from fishing are some of the grave issues of misplaced development plaguing the country.'' Raising her opposition to ill-planned development programmes, Ms Patkar demanded a true and just development of all people.

''Our leaders should stop uprooting and displacing poor and working class people from their livelihood in the name of development,'' she said.

Simpreet Singh, an activist with the NBA, said, ''We oppose the Maharashtra government's decision to repeal the Urban Land and Ceiling Act (ULCA), as it will further help the interests of the builder lobby and a few elite people.'' On the contrary, the state government should implement ULCA to buy or seize surplus lands and redistribute the same among displaced people after asking them to form societies, she added.

The protestors also decided to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil demanding immediate revoking of the SEZ Act, cessation to demolition of slum settlements and illegal encroachment of land by builders.

UNI