PEOPLE’S AUDIT OF SEZS IN TAMIL NADU

INVITATION FOR PUBLIC MEETING: PEOPLE’S AUDIT OF SEZS IN TAMIL NADU

Date: 26th October 2009; Time: 11am-1pm;

Venue: Dhyana Ashram, # 25, Mada Church Road, Mandaveli, Chennai 600028
(Close to St. Antony’s girls school, take right turn after Santhome Church while coming from Light house/Marina Beach)

On 24th-25th October 2009, an eminent panel of lawyers, social scientists, journalists, retired bureaucrats from different parts of the country will visit different districts of Tamil Nadu, namely, Kanchipuram, Thiruvannamalai, Thiruvallur, Madurai, Thirunelveli, Krishnagiri and Vellore to 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.

On 26th October 2009, the audit panel will present its findings in an open forum in Chennai which will be attended by representatives of state government, members of media, struggle groups, labour groups, NGOs and concerned citizens.

We cordially invite you to participate in the public meeting on 26th October (venue and time noted above). Your participation and engagement will 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.

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.

Looking forward to your kind participation.

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)

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Background Note:

A People’s Audit of SEZs in Tamil Nadu is being conducted between October 24-26th, 2009.

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.

A People’s Audit is being conducted in several states in the country, wherein an eminent panel of social scientists, economists, retired bureaucrats, 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 from the following districts in Tamil Nadu: 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 on SEZs:

The SEZ Act was enacted in India in 2005 and since, 722 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 NCPRI, TISS, ICHRLN, NCAS, JVKS 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. People’s Audit is being conducted in several states including Maharashtra, Goa, Guajarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa, West Bengal and Delhi. 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.