Reliance's plan to convert 35,000 acres of farm land into Maharastra's largest SEZ has run out of time; farmers celebrate and can utlise land as they deem fit
Reliance's plan to convert 35,000 acres of farm land into Maharastra's largest SEZ has run out of time; farmers celebrate and can utlise land as they deem fit
Mukesh Ambani must make new plans now that the state government has issued a resolution to de-notify the acquisition of land for the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) since Reliance was unable to acquire the land by the December 2009 deadline.
"The decision has been taken by Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat in the interests of farmers as the process of land acquisition for the SEZ wasn't completed in the stipulated period," an official said. Farmers are now free to utilise their lands as they deem fit.
Since the period allotted to the land acquisition had lapsed and no official statement had been made, it meant the 7/12 (land record) extracts of farmers in the project area, comprising of 45 villages in Uran, Pen and Panvel talukas, prevented farmers from selling, buying, or transferring their lands.
The land acquisition procedure started in May 2006, but Reliance managed to acquire only 13 per cent of the land within the stipulated period, facing strong opposition from farmers along the way.
In September 2008, the state government conducted a referendum, in which the villagers voted against the project. Sources say the state government does not have the authority to scrap the SEZ and the centre will decide. This means Mukesh Ambani can still acquire the land privately. But the project faces stiff opposition from locals.
