[Reader-list] Invitation for People's Audit of SEZs in Tamil Nadu 24th-26th October, 2009

[Jeebesh]

From: <peoplesauditofsezs2009 at gmail.com>
Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to a People’s Audit of SEZs in Tamil Nadu  
between October 24-26th, 2009.

As you may know, there are 139 SEZs notified and in various stages of  
approvals in Tamil Nadu with the state aggressively pursuing the  
agenda of industrialization.  In addition, the state industrial  
corporations SIPCOT and TIDCO are aggressively acquiring lands  
creating land banks for industrial estates and SEZs. An estimated over  
25,000 hectares have already been acquired by these corporations and  
much more are in pipeline.

These People’s Audits are being conducted in several states in the  
country, wherein an eminent panel of social scientists, economists,  
retired bureaucrats, journalists and other esteemed individuals will  
critically examine issues emerging around SEZs/industrial estates, of  
land acquisition; displacement; corruption; environmental impact;  
compensation, employment generation, livelihood loss and labour rights  
as well as questions of development and economic growth. In Tamil Nadu  
this exercise will be undertaken for the following districts:  
Kanchipuram, Thiruvannamalai, Thiruvallur, Madurai, Thirunelveli,  
Krishnagiri and Vellore.

On 24th and 25th October, panel members will travel to various parts  
of Tamil Nadu to hear the testimonies of people:
Group 1 : Tirumangalam(Madurai), Nanguneri(Tirunelveli)
Group 2 : Sriperumbudur(Kanchipuram), Cheyyar(Thiruvannamalai),  
Ranipettai(Vellore), Hosur (Krishnagiri)
Group 3 : Panapakkam (Vellore), Thervoy (Thiruvallur),  
Athipattu(Thiruvallur)

On 26th October, the participants will gather in Chennai for public  
meeting where findings of the People’s audit will be presented.

Your participation and engagement would prove extremely valuable in  
critically examining the unfolding political economy of SEZs/ 
industrial estates and in articulating the development needs of the  
State. We hope that you will join us in this process and since this is  
a largely people’s initiative we are requesting participants to find  
support for travel to Chennai. We will make all necessary arrangements  
for your food and stay within the area and travel from Chennai to  
different parts of Tamil Nadu.

This effort has been jointly initiated by the Sirapu Porulaathara  
Mandala Edirappu Iyyakkam (Movement Against Special Economic Zones in  
TN) and its member organisations-Thervoy Grama Makkal Munnetra Nala  
Sangam, Walaja Unriya Vyvasaigal Nala Sangam, Tamil Nadu Vyvasaigal  
Inamanamgulam Kilai, Madurai Mavatta Vyvasaigal Nala Sangam, Vyvasa  
Thozhilar Nala Sangam, Amaipusara Thozhilar Koottamaippu. Supported by  
National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Unorganised Workers  
Federation, Dalit Land Rights Federation (Mannurimai Koottamaippu);  
Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum and many other TN based peoples’ movement and  
organisations.

Brief Background:

The SEZ Act was enacted in India in 2005 and since, 1046 SEZs have  
already been approved in the country with many in various stages of  
approval, land acquisition or completion as the case may be. SEZs have  
invited controversy and peasant resistance in many quarters and have  
become bones of contention between the state, the developers and  
ordinary citizens.

To recap some of the features of the law: the Special Economic Zone  
Act 2005 deems SEZs as “public purpose.” The definition of  
manufacturing in the Act includes manufacturing and production  
processes, and includes agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry,  
floriculture, horticulture, pisciculture, poultry, sericulture,  
viticulture, mining and services. This comprehensive inclusion of all  
types of economic activities within the purview of SEZs, comes with no  
restrictions on the maximum size and numbers of SEZs and a requirement  
of only 50% of the proposed land to be dedicated to economic activity.  
SEZs do not have any local body representation; nor adequate  
representation of labour and environmental concerns in their  
administrative structure. The Act contains provisions like section  
31(9) that further remove accountability mechanisms from the Zone  
Authority: “No act or proceeding of an Authority shall be invalidated  
merely by reason of—a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the  
constitution of, the Authority; or b) any defect in the appointment of  
a person acting as a Member of the Authority; or c) any irregularity  
in the procedure of the Authority not affecting the merits of the case.”

What has been the impact of this radical legislation? Given the  
potentially large scale implications and the nature of "development"   
envisaged by the SEZ Act in the country, the NAPM, the National  
Campaign for People's Right to Information, Tata Institute of Social  
Sciences, India Centre for Human Rights Lawyers Network, National  
Centre for Advocacy Studies and several other groups and organisations  
from across the states and SEZ areas met early last month to initiate  
a national People’s Audit on SEZs process in India. The People’s  
Audits will seek to examine the impact of the projects against stated  
objectives, as well as the impact of the law on the people of the  
area, and the political economy of the country. People’s Audits of  
SEZs are being conducted in several states including Maharashtra, Goa,  
Guajarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa, West Bengal  
and Delhi with the first of the series held in Maharashtra on  
September 15, 2009 the detailed documentation for which is available  
at:http://sez.icrindia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=8&Itemid=35

Looking forward to your kind participation in this process.

Warm Regards,
Campaign Against Special Economic Zones (Sirapu Porulaathara Mandala  
Edirappu Iyyakkam)

On Behalf of the Organisers.
Madhumita Dutta (09444390240); Chandrika Ramanujam (09444455385); K  
Sarvanan (09941408181); Anbuvendan (09841112523); S Perumal  
(09443396786)