Bardhan says SEZs not necessary
Buddhadeb Govt In A Spot After Left Front Allies Rally Against SEZs
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government in West Bengal is likely to face more hurdles over SEZs with CPI joining the anti-SEZ bandwagon. Striking a note of dissent with the CPM, the CPI on Tuesday said SEZs were not imperative for industrialisation. The resistance from within the Left Front, at a time when there are reservations over SEZs even within CPM, would add to the troubles of the West Bengal government.
“We do not think SEZs are necessary for industrial development. We do not accept SEZs — they are neither inevitable nor necessary,” CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said after a meeting of his party’s central secretariat. The issue will be further discussed by the CPI’s national executive when it meets in Delhi on April 18 and 19. The party has also drawn up a wish list of changes in the SEZ policy if the government persisted with going ahead with SEZs.
This includes putting a cap on the number of SEZs as well as the quantum of land allotted to a SEZ. Mr Bardhan said the extent of land given for an SEZ should be capped at 1,000 acres, which is half the figure prescribed by the CPM and one-fifth of the 5,000 acres suggested by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM). The CPI also wants the government to bar ownership of land in SEZs and allow only acquisition on a lease basis.
Though it was of the view that the industry should purchase land from the peasants, the CPI did not rule out the need for some state mechanism involvement in land acquisition deals. RSP, another Left ally, which has taken the ‘scrap SEZs’ stand has already launched an anti-SEZ campaign. The CPI’s toeing a similar line would be bad news for the CPM, which is battling with the UPA government at the centre to accept the changes demanded by the Left to the SEZ policy.
The CPM, which has linked SEZs to industrialisation, has made it clear that there was no threat to either in West Bengal despite all the flak in the wake of Nandigram. Though there were differences within the CPM over SEZs, the recent central committee meeting reaffirmed the demands for changes in the SEZ Act, including curtailment of “exorbitant” tax concessions being given for SEZs. The meeting had admitted to making mistakes over Nandigram but felt that land acquisition was not the issue which led to the unrest.
“We do not think SEZs are necessary for industrial development. We do not accept SEZs — they are neither inevitable nor necessary,” CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said after a meeting of his party’s central secretariat. The issue will be further discussed by the CPI’s national executive when it meets in Delhi on April 18 and 19. The party has also drawn up a wish list of changes in the SEZ policy if the government persisted with going ahead with SEZs.
This includes putting a cap on the number of SEZs as well as the quantum of land allotted to a SEZ. Mr Bardhan said the extent of land given for an SEZ should be capped at 1,000 acres, which is half the figure prescribed by the CPM and one-fifth of the 5,000 acres suggested by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM). The CPI also wants the government to bar ownership of land in SEZs and allow only acquisition on a lease basis.
Though it was of the view that the industry should purchase land from the peasants, the CPI did not rule out the need for some state mechanism involvement in land acquisition deals. RSP, another Left ally, which has taken the ‘scrap SEZs’ stand has already launched an anti-SEZ campaign. The CPI’s toeing a similar line would be bad news for the CPM, which is battling with the UPA government at the centre to accept the changes demanded by the Left to the SEZ policy.
The CPM, which has linked SEZs to industrialisation, has made it clear that there was no threat to either in West Bengal despite all the flak in the wake of Nandigram. Though there were differences within the CPM over SEZs, the recent central committee meeting reaffirmed the demands for changes in the SEZ Act, including curtailment of “exorbitant” tax concessions being given for SEZs. The meeting had admitted to making mistakes over Nandigram but felt that land acquisition was not the issue which led to the unrest.
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