All talk, no action? (editorial)
It is now becoming painfully obvious that apart from announcing that all SEZs were scrapped on New Year's Eve and issuing
It is now becoming painfully obvious that apart from announcing that all SEZs were scrapped on New Year's Eve and issuing
Nationalist Congress Party expressed shock at the stand of the Center on proposed SEZs in Goa and said that it was a direct affront to the sentiments of the people of Goa and termed it as an acid test for the govt in power. In a press note, NCP Spokesman and General Secretary Surendra Furtado said that the attitude of the Under Secretary of the Union Minister for Commerce stating that the SEZ could not be revoked smacked of "money talking.'
THE Madras High Court has upheld an order dated November 3, 2006, of the Industries Department, acquiring 395.87 hectares of land in Oragadam and Sennakuppam villages in Kancheepuram district for setting up special economic zones (SEZs). In their writ petitions, M Haridoss and 15 others had challenged the acquisition proceedings on various grounds. Dismissing the petitions, Justice P Jyothimani observed that there had been compliance of service of notice and hearing of petitioners' grievances.
The state government needs Rs 430 crore for the first phase in the acquisition of zerayati land spread over 9,237 acres around Kolleru lake in Krishna and East Godavari districts. The land is situated in fifth contour of Kolleru lake that is being restored after the Supreme Court's directions.
The Goa government has obtained two weeks' time from a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Goa to take a decision on its stop-work orders issued to three private developers of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The government was on Monday caught in a bind over a communication from the Centre expressing inability to denotify three of the already notified SEZs proposed to come up in Goa.
It will await land procurement panel's clearance The project is to be set up on over 4,800 acres of land Trinamool Congress has expressed opposition to it In line with its decision to go ahead with moves to acquire land for industry and infrastructure only with the consent of local elected bodies, the West Bengal government announced here on Tuesday that it would put on hold the proposal to set up a major township at Dankuni in the Hooghly district.
If the reactions to the Union Commerce Ministry's decision declining the Goa government's request to denotify the three SEZ's that were granted final approval
Though the Central government has refused to de-notify three Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the State government has still got a case to get the SEZ scrapped. The State government will have to inquire into fraudulent land allotments for SEZs and prove that transactions entered into were in contravention of law, suggested opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, while reacting to the Centre's refusal to heed the Goa government's demand on SEZs
The three special economic zones in Goa notified under Special Economic Zone Act 2005 have already been denotified by the people of Goa and therefore a bureaucratic order is meaningless and impractical, said Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Shantaram Naik. Reacting to the refusal by the Union Commerce Ministry to de-notify the three special economic zones, Naik said that he had no doubt that the State government will not leave the issue in wilderness and fight the battle in the interest of the people and the State.
The provision for urgent take-overs bypassing procedure is open to misuse by powerful interests.
In tune with the CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat's prescription after the panchayat poll debacles to the CPI(M)-led government to put on hold any development project vis-a-vis land acquisition drive, the West Bengal government on Tuesday declared that in face of any protest during land procurement for the Dankuni Township in Hooghly district, the entire project might be scrapped. Significantly, the state government has already put a brake on Salim Group's proposed projects in East Medinipur and North and South 24 Parganas.
The commerce ministry in a letter to the Goa government has said that there is no provision to denotify approved and notified Special Economic Zones (SEZs). "We have received such a letter and will be taking a stand within a couple of days after thorough discussion on the issue," State Chief Secretary J P Singh said this evening. The commerce ministry's refusal to denotify three SEZs has come as a tough challenge for the state government that will now have to take stand on the issue within two weeks.
P. Sainath The farmers contesting the Jadcherla seat helped to defeat the sitting MLA. The Jadcherla 13, of whom eight are seen in the picture, succeeded in lowering the votes of the main parties. They made history by standing as 13 independent candidates fighting the same Assembly seat but contesting for, not against, one another. They did it again on Sunday
Mamata Banerjee has announced fresh agitations at Singur and Nandigam demanding action against Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, CPM secretary Biman Bose and senior party leader Benoy Konar who, she alleged, were responsible for Tapashi Mallick's killing at Singur and the carnage at Nandigram on March 14 when the police and CPM cadres gunned down 14 farmers.
Tata Power and Reliance Energy are unable to bring the development the 1,600 mw and 4,000-mw power projects on fast track, thanks to the Maharashtra government's dillydallying over expediting the land acquisition process of these projects. The government, though, was striving to meet the ever increasing power demand in the state was not eager to push through land acquisition process at the cost of its survival. It took three years since the state government signed an MoU on April 4, 2005, to streamline the land acquisition process.
The first Nano car will roll out from the Singur plant in West Bengal, Ravi Kant (pictured) said, ending speculation over the possibility of rolling out Nano from other locations. Kant said that the company is on schedule as far as the launch date of mid-October is concerned. Work at the plant is moving at a brisk pace. Fierce agitation from locals, a political backlash and controversies over land acquisition, recruitment of workforce, arrangement of basic utilities and water logging during the last monsoon had already pushed the original deadline back five or six months.
After suffering reverses in panchayat polls in several districts of West Bengal, the CPI (M) on Thursday said industrialisation in the state would continue, though steps to acquire land would be taken "cautiously". "The process of industrialisation will continue. However, we have to take steps cautiously (to acquire land) and decide on where industries would be set up," party Politburo member Biman Bose told reporters here. Mr Bose, who is here to attend the Central Committee meeting, said, "We have to take the people into confidence and move forward."
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee reiterated here on Monday her demand that the 400 acres of land that she claims had been acquired from peasants in Singur without their consent for the setting up of the Tata Motors' car manufacturing project there should be returned to their owners. She scoffed at veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu's remark on Sunday that any attempt to sabotage the project would send the message to the people that the Trinamool Congress is against development.
As China continues to boom in the coming decades, it would be well advised to think big. Big cities, that is.
Trouble broke out at Singur in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Sunday when police had to burst tear gas shells to disperse a mob that damaged a watch-tower near the project site of the Tata Motors' automobile manufacturing unit where construction work was underway. The mob allegedly hurled bricks at the police when challenged, injuring some of them. Additional security forces were rushed to the area, a senior district police official said.