EAS Sarma, former secretary of the GoI, alleged that SEZs in general have not come out gloriously in terms of what was expected and most of them have become real estate ventures linked to money-laundering.
EAS Sarma, former secretary to the Government of India (GoI) has alleged that most of the special economic zones (SEZs) in the country have become real estate ventures lined to money laundering.
Mr Sarma, in a letter to the commerce secretary, GoI, said, “Those who promote SEZs have gained the impression that they can violate any law of the land with the blessings of the politicians and the local authorities. The nexus among the SEZ promoters, the politicians and the officials has generated large amounts of black money, a subject that has attracted the attention of the highest court of the country.”
“Several of them (SEZs) have bypassed the environment laws of the country and have turned out to be sources of toxic pollution. Many are carrying on illegitimate activities surreptitiously and ironically, their crimes seem to get exposed, not by our regulators but the regulatory authorities abroad, as was the case with Visakhapatnam SEZ,” the former secretary alleged.
SEZs have dealt a serious blow to agriculture and have become a threat to food security, Mr Sarma said, adding that almost all the SEZs have resulted in dispossessing small farmers and fishing communities of their precious lands and their legitimate access to the sea. “By their very nature, SEZs represent ‘no democracy’ islands. Even before the setting up of an SEZ, no genuine public consultation ever takes place. Once set up, some SEZ promoters have denied access to the regulators,” he said.
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