Karnataka   

Infrastructure at what cost?

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

GREEN AND BEAUTIFUL: A file picture of a farm near Nandagudi, where it has been proposed to form a multi-product special economic zone.

BANGALORE/MANGALORE: Infrastructure projects, especially special economic zones (SEZs), that are rapidly eating into precious agriculture land are leaving farmers desperate and landless. In a year that witnessed uprising by farmers against the SEZ at Nandigram in West Bengal, also saw farmers in Karnataka protesting against the proposed SEZs.

As many as 30 special economic zones have been approved in the State of which at least 20 of them are coming up around Bangalore. Such projects have also been planned in Mangalore, Mysore, Hassan and Shimoga districts.

Acquisition of large tracts of farmlands around an already congested Bangalore came in for criticism while farmers are opposing the multi-product Mangalore Special Economic Zone.

Protests started soon after the State Cabinet approved a multi-product SEZ at Nandagudi in Hoskote taluk that has been proposed in an area of 12,350 acres in 36 villages in Nandagudi hobli, nearly 55 km from Bangalore. This mega project is expected to displace a large number of people from their traditional land.

The aerospace SEZ at Devanahalli that is set to acquire nearly 920 acres saw farmers opposing land acquisition process that was initiated by the Karnataka Industrial Area Board (KIADB). “SEZs should be allowed in only non-agriculture zone and in underdeveloped region, which are also non-polluting. These underdeveloped areas will also witness overall development while employment is also created,” Raitha Horata Samithi president D.S. Gowda, who is spearheading the campaign against acquisition in Devanahalli, told The Hindu. Further, he said that acquisition of agriculture land could lead to food insecurity. “Instead of concentrating on creating SEZs for information technology (IT) and information technology enabled services (ITES), SEZs that would help farmers and agriculture should be located in the agriculture zone,” he added. Incidentally, 20 SEZs that have been approved are related to IT and ITES sectors.

Similarly, the agitation opposing the Mangalore Special Economic Zone project coming up on 3,835 acres of land has gathered momentum with over 4,000 people turning up to voice their dissent against the project at a public hearing held during the last week of November, 2007. Nearly 3,000 families in eight villages are likely to be displaced though the figure is being contradicted by the company.

The demand of the agitators is that the land that has been notified for acquisition be de-notified and the SEZ promoter buy land from only those willing to sell it. Of the project area, 1,800 acres have been acquired. The MSEZ Ltd. suffered a mutiny of sorts when students trained by it as part of rehabilitation package for displaced families boycotted classes for a week.

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