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Out of bounds for SEZs

A coastal State with an area of 3,700 square kilometres and a population of about 1.4 million, Goa has always been extremely sensitive to the impact of unrestrained economic development. The upsurge of public activism against the setting up of Special Economic Zones, which eventually forced the State government to announce the scrapping of all 15 such projects, is an impressive case in point. Early last year, a similar agitation coerced the government into calling for a re vision of the Goa Regional Plan 2011, a controversial document that opened up large swathes of land, including green belts and coastal stretches, for construction. The broad-based agitation against SEZs has demonstrated the power of popular protest in the State. Those opposed to the projects had questioned the propriety of the government acquiring large tracts of land and then selling them to promoters at low prices. There were also suspicions that some of the SEZs were real estate speculative plays, fronts for the entry of big construction companies.

Ironically, the government’s defence of the projects on the ground that they would result in a sharp surge in employment boomeranged on it. It led to the SEZ issue getting tied up with that of Goan identity, with worries that the projects would attract large numbers of ‘outsiders’ and alter the State’s demographic profile. The very nature of Goa demands that issues of land use, environmental management, industrial development, and resource conservation need to be looked at independently — in a way that takes into account the State’s unique economic and socio-cultural character. The tiny State, which attracts more than 12 per cent of foreign tourists visiting India and about 75 per cent of the direct charter traffic, is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. Ecological well-being — a high priority for the people of Goa and also the basis of its appeal as a tourism hot spot — must not be diminished by short-sighted developmental projects. The scrapping of the SEZ projects, which has been well received by all major political parties in the State, should put a definitive end to the long-drawn out controversy. The Digambar Kamath government must be commended for respecting the wishes of the people and taking a decision to keep Goa totally SEZ-free. In turn, the Central government must respect this democratic outcome and help the State government speedily resolve all remaining issues, especially the question of how land already allotted to private parties in the three notified SEZs will be recovered.

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