Note: forwarded message attached.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for last minute shopping deals?
Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Green Youth Movement" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
--- Begin Message ---
PANOS SOUTH ASIA-KALPAVRIKSH MEDIA DIALOGUES
Missing the Wood for the Trees:
Covering the environment in the era of economic reforms.
SEZs: Oasis or Mirage?
Date: 26th February 2008 (Tues)
Time: 10:30 am to 5:00 pm
Venue: YMCA, New Delhi
Since the promulgation of the Special Economic Zone Act in 2005, the Union
Ministry of Commerce has approved 404 SEZs across the country, of which 172
have been notified, while more than 150 are awaiting formal approval. The
speedy development of SEZs, as a means to rev up economic growth, has raked up
a great deal of controversy, with several planners, elected representatives and
citizens expressing doubts over their stated objectives and the possibility of
their fulfillment.
Economists have repeatedly pointed out that the tax holidays awarded to SEZ
units will eventually lead to a significant loss of revenue. Initially, even
the Ministries of Commerce and Finance did not see eye to eye over the economic
feasibility of SEZs. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said that the economic
gains from SEZs will not be commensurate with the fiscal benefits being
promised to them, and the net profit will be much lower than what is being
claimed by the Commerce Ministry.
Economists have also questioned the extent to which SEZs will boost exports
and employment, considering the dollar has been falling and that most of the
notified SEZs are in the Information Technology sector. Critics also cite the
Chinese experience with SEZs to underscore the problem of regional imbalances
in infrastructure development. Chinas flirtation with SEZs also illustrates
the folly of subsidizing resources such as energy and water, which have grave
implications for the environment. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Commerce is
confident that all the approved SEZs, if notified, will generate 4 million jobs
and boost exports by 200 per cent.
While economists joust with each other over the economic logic of SEZs, the
biggest worry about and the greatest threat to SEZs is the large scale
acquisition of arable land, often by violence or deceit, As per the Ministrys
figures, more than 200,000 hectares of land will be required for all the
proposed SEZs. Fuelling this concern is the knowledge that many developers,
like Reliance, the Rahejas, the Hiranandanis and DLF are looking at SEZs to
expand their real estate business.
The acquisition of land for SEZs has been vehemently opposed by farmers,
fishing communities along the coast, and other rural communities from
Maharashtra to West Bengal and from Himachal Pradesh to Karnataka. The
fisherfolk are especially vulnerable as they do not have land rights. Following
popular protests and their violent repression in Nandigram and other places
early last year, the central government had frozen the approval of SEZs till
the problem of land acquisition had been resolved. This decision had displeased
some state governments, such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka, who had alleged that the freeze had sent a negative signal to
investors.
The government lifted the freeze in April last year. It announced that there
will be no forced acquisition of land for SEZs under the Land acquisition Act
of 1894. Undoubtedly the question of land has become the prickliest thorn in
the flesh of SEZ proponents. The government is now attempting a balancing act
by finally pushing for a law on rehabilitation and resettlement and amendments
to the Land Acquisition Act. Critics however are apprehensive about whether the
new policy changes would restrain the transfer of agriculture land to industry
and the subsequent loss of agricultural and other allied landbased livelihoods?
Will those who lose their livelihoods be absorbed by the industrial enclaves
including SEZs? And how will it affect the food security of the country?
Environmental groups have also raised concerns about the proliferation of
SEZs in environmentally sensitive regions such as coastal areas and highly
polluted zones. Procedures for environmental decision making have been diluted
for SEZs. The proposals for the location, size, and the nature of operations of
units or whole SEZs are not put through detailed environmental assessments to
minimize potential impacts.
To understand the intricacies of the SEZ debate, we invite you to the fourth
edition of the Panos-Kalpavriksh media dialogue series. This media dialogue is
an effort to facilitate participants to take a closer and nuanced look at the
debate so far.. We hope to bring together representatives of the bureaucracy,
political parties, peoples movements and academics to this discussion.
PROGRAMME SCHEDULE
10:30- 11:00: Registration and Tea
10:30- 10:40: Introduction to the series and the session- Rakesh Kalshian
Facilitator: Darryl DMonte, Chairperson, Forum of Environmental Journalists
of India
10:40- 11:20: Session One: Describing the Beast
Ø SEZs in India: A Report Card- Manshi Asher, Independent Researcher
Ø The Great Transformation: Is Industrialisation Inevitable? - Jayati
Ghosh, Economist and Professor JNU
Discussion
11: 20- 12:20: Session Two: Can the Leopard Change its Spots?
Ø Repeating History: SEZs as 21st Century Enclosures- Aseem Shrivastava,
Independent Writer
Ø Lay of the Land: Can we accommodate SEZs?- Jairam Ramesh, Minister of
State for Commerce and Industry
12:20- 1:30: Session Three: SEZ Who?
Ø Special Effects: SEZs as instruments of economic progress-
Gopalakrishna Pillai, Secretary Ministry of Commerce
Ø The Devil lies in the Details: Interrogating SEZs on its promises-
Arun Kumar, Economist
Ø View from Below: The impact of SEZ on the working classes- Gautam Modi
, Member NTUI
1:30-2:15: Lunch
2:15-3:15 Session Four: Beating Ploughshares into Swords?
Ø The emerging politics of Resistance: Peoples Movements against SEZs -
Sumit Choudhury , Independent Filmmaker, Writer and Social activist
Ø Smoke and Mirrors: Raigad Farmers reject SEZs- Ulka Mahajan, Activist
Sarvahara Jan Andolan
Discussion
3:15 -3:30 Tea
3:30 4:15: Session Five: Precautionary Tales
Ø Elephant in the Room: Can environment regulations restrict impacts by
SEZs: Lessons from Chinas experience -Shankar Gopalakrishnan, Campaign for
Survival and Dignity
Ø Ecological impacts of SEZs: Case study from the Gujarat coast- Bharat
Patel, SETU
Discussion
Closing Remarks by facilitator
Peace is doable.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--- End Message ---
