PEZ – MondayMuse(21Dec’09)
MONDAY MUSE (21 December 2009)
PEZ!
On 6 December 2006, a meeting was convened in Goa to discuss the then impending
danger of the proposed SEZs (Special Economic Zones). During the deliberations,
somebody suggested that the alternatives to SEZs were PEZ (People’s Economic
Zone). And thus was born a highly stimulating slogan in the local Konkani lingo
– “amka naka SEZ, amka zai PEZ” (We do not want SEZ, we want PEZ)
It is pertinent to note that ‘pez’ is also another Goan word for kanji – rice
gruel.It is an integral part of the meals of the poor. Yet, others too opt for
the ‘pez’ diet whenever confronted with illness. The elders recommended ‘pez’
as a healthy habit. Clearly, ‘pez’ is more than a tradition… it is a
fundamentally simple yet highly nourishing meal of Goans and so many who reside
on the coast.
Similarly, PEZ as People’s Economic Zone remains a fundamentally simple yet
highly sustainable concept. SEZs and all their other avatars are essentially
land grabs and their development brings along destructive, irreversible impacts
on lands, lives and livelihoods. Thus they are at best an oxymoron of
destructive development and are invariably fuelled not by the stated need of
the stakeholders but the ravenous greed of a few.
Any so-called development that deteriorates the land, lives and livelihoods
cannot be accepted as real development. Development is not about creating newer
things and situations. It should be about enhancing value of existing resources
and conditions. It is all about trying to be better, not worse! But like pez,
PEZ should not be about solutions to be chosen after a problem happens… it
should be the basic prevention of the problem’s occurrence.
Not just when the situation gets worse and toxic
Let’s BE BETTER at choosing PEZ as a practice!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
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