Chidambaram neglects suicide belt

Chidambaram neglects suicide belt

Sweta Ramanujan-Dixit

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1941082,000600010004.htm

Mumbai, February 28, 2007

He made it a point to mention that he had devoted a generous 15 to 20 minutes of his speech to agriculture. But in those 20 minutes, Finance Minister P Chidambaram steered clear of the ‘S’ word.

In all the talk about agrarian crisis and the government’s concern about the same, suicides of thousands of cotton farmers in Maharashtra found no specific mention in the two-hour speech.

Little wonder then, that people like Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti are ‘disturbed’ after the budget. The reason: no clear-cut measures announced to stem the spate of suicides in Vidarbha — Maharashtra’s cotton belt.

"The government spoke so much about the agrarian crisis in its economic survey but the budget does not address this," Tiwari said. Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a Rs 3,750-crore relief package in July 2006, the spate of suicides continues with 79 suicides in February alone — 12 of these in the 48 hours preceding the budget.

Tiwari felt the budget should have considered the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF). "We have been demanding that farming be made profitable. Input and output costs should be regulated. Giving high-maintenance milch cows is like giving the farmers another reason to commit suicide," Tiwari argued.

There seems to be no immediate relief in sight for distressed cotton farmers. Farm credit has been expanded which means more money available for borrowing but no reduction in interest rates. But the state government says it is grateful that at least more money is available.

"Having identified the problem in both human and statistical dimensions, the budget fails to provide a strategy for agricultural renewal," NCF chairman MS Swaminathan wrote in an e-mail to this paper, reacting to the budget. "In the suicide-ridden districts of Vidharbha, we need an integrated package consisting of appropriate and affordable technology, services in terms of seeds, credit, insurance and extension advice. Above all, an assured and remunerative marketing facility."

Swaminathan welcomed the increased outlay on irrigation and the expansion of farm credit. But he added that this was "not going to prevent farmers affected by economic penury from committing suicides".

"Vidharbha needs rural godowns and warehouseing facilities which can ensure that farmers are able to get the best possible price and are not forced to resort to distress sales," Swaminathan explained. "Unfortunately the budget is silent about farmer-centric marketing."

The state government, though, is trying hard to hide its disappointment and focus on budgetary provisions it can make use of. "Expanding farm credit is an important step because it is crucial that loans are available to farmers," Agriculture Minister Balasaheb Thorat told HT.

"We can make good use of the Mission for Pulses to increase their production. If it works, many farmers could get diverted towards pulses from cotton."

The finance minister did outline some long-term solutions: an unimpressive Rs 100-crore for rain-fed area development programmes and Rs 12,400 crore towards water-related schemes.

Fertiliser companies will receive subsidies of over Rs 22,000 crore. Based on a study to be conducted, a pilot programme will be implemented for delivering these subsidies directly to the farmer, the budget stated. But in Swaminathan’s words: "The time for ‘pilots’ is gone and what we need is a movement like the one which triggered the green revolution in the sixties."
=====================================================================================

PTI REPORTS TODAY-11 more Vidarbha farmers commit suicide; Feb toll at 77

NationalFARMERS-SUICIDE
11 more Vidarbha farmers commit suicide; Feb toll at 77

http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_print.asp?id=454223

Nagpur, Feb 27 (PTI) Suicide by farmers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra continued unabated with 11 more farmers allegedly ending their lives in the last two days, an activist group said today.
Two farmers each from Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal and Washim districts and one each from Chandrapur, Buldhana and Wardha ended their lives, taking the total number of farmer suicides in February to 77, said Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, which claims to keep track of such cases in the cotton belt.
In January, 70 farmers had ended their lives, taking the toll this year to 147. Those who committed suicide were tribals, Dalits and from backward classes, the Samiti said in a release.
Forced recovery of loans from farmers is the main reason for these suicides, the Samiti alleged.
The Prime Minsiter, during his visit to the region in July last year, had announced a relief package of over Rs 3,700 crore, but the step did not stop the suicides.

Unprecedented Agrarian Crisis needs special "Farmer Budget" -VJAS

Unprecedented Agrarian Crisis needs special "Farmer Budget" -VJAS

Nagpur-25th feb.,2007

Year 2006 has been year of admission when Indian Prime Minister Dr.manmohan singh admitted on 15th august 2006 in his speech to the national that

QUOTE
------------------
New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) Distressed by a spate of suicides, poverty and hunger among Indian farmers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday assured them of remunerative prices for farm produce and every possible assistance to redress their distress.

We need to understand if we want better prices for farmers so that they earn a better livelihood, the prices of what they produce and sell will have to go up,' the prime minister said in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort here.

'In order to ensure that the needy and the poor do not get adversely affected, our government is committed to ensuring adequate availability of essential commodities at affordable prices to them,' he added.

'We certainly cannot grudge our farmers better incomes when incomes of other sections of society are rising.'

The prime minister said he was aware of the acute distress the Indian farmer was facing on account of heavy debt burden, adding that an expert group had recently been constituted to look into this issue.

'I see that our farmers in many parts are in a crisis, not managing to eke out a decent living from their land. When I visited Vidarbha, the plight of the farmers there made a deep impact on me,' he said.

'The agricultural crisis that is forcing them to take the desperate step of committing suicide needs to be resolved. We need to think about how we can provide a decent livelihood to our farmers.'

'I am confident that in a few months, we will take concrete measures to help our farmers overcome the burden of crushing debt,' the prime minister asserted.

Reiterating his promise in his Independence Day address two years ago of a new deal for rural India, he said while much had been done in this regard such as doubling of farm credit, much more remained to be accomplished.

'Importantly, we must ensure that more people get employment in manufacturing and services so that the disproportionate burden on agriculture in providing a livelihood to two-thirds of our population gets reduced.'

The prime minister said the government was also reviving the cooperative banking system and would pay special attention to horticulture, animal husbandry, cotton, sugarcane and other crops.

'We are trying to reach institutional credit to each and every farmer so that they are out of the clutches of moneylenders,' he said.

'A National Fisheries Development Board has been set up to increase the livelihood of fishermen. Agricultural research is being improved and Krishi Vigyan Kendras will soon be functioning in every district of the country by the year end.'
==================================================================

unquote

Indian Prime Minister's admission that in last 60 year agriculture has become richer and richer but farmers become poor and poor and to days unprecedented agrarian crisis is accumulated result of all wrong policies and budgetary allocation in the name of agriculture allocation .Even though prime minister promised nothing has been done in last 10 months on this front and more & more suicide reported in the country most hit was vidarbha which witnessed more than 1000 farm suicides after Indian Prime Minister announced Rs.3750 crore special package to bail out the farmers who are in debt trap and distress.Indian budget which is giving much more importance to corporate farming ,land garbing formulas of infra structure developments in rural sector will make farmers condition much more hostile and will increase more farm suicide in mass scale at national level.

"NATIONAL NEED FOR SPECIAL "FARMER INCOME BASE BUDGET"

Now this been proven experience that money provided in the Indian budget for Agriculture has not increasing the income of farmer in any way and budget that gives allocation for the farmer income hike should be separately announced as "FARMER'S INCOME " is core issue handled by the reports of NCF too.Introduction pay commission for farmers is need of the nation and Govt. should issued that fix net income should be generated by farm sector as individual income of farmer and this idea seems to be ridiculous at this stage but it's final that unless and until we cant grow the income farmer we cant grow INDIA too.The retardation in GDP due to retardation in Agriculture growth is matter of concern.Issues raised by INDIAN PRIME MINISTER can only be addressed and farm crisis can only resolved by providing special farmer income base budget.
===================================================================================================

Kishor Tiwari
Vidarbha Jan andolan Samiti
vidarbha@gmail.com
andolan.blogspot.com
contact-09422108846

Vidarbha sits on a suicide volcano -Times of India Warning

Times of India Mumbai; Date:2007 Feb 25; Section:Editors Choice; Page Number 10
S TO R I E S F R O M T H E OT H E R I N D I A
Vidarbha sits on a suicide volcano
Ramu Bhagwat TNN http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Vidarbha_sits_on_a_suicide_volcano/articleshow/1676113.cms
Nagpur: There has been a modest decline in farm suicides in the last couple of months. But even before the government can start claiming credit for implementation of the Rs 5000 special relief packages, activists and farm experts have warned that Vidarbha could be sitting on a volcano waiting to erupt. The government statistics are pretty grim. In 2006, 1,447 farmers ended their lives in six affected districts of Vidarbha alone. But government officials paint a different picture. “In the past months, farm suicides due to agrarian reasons have come down. This is mainly because of government measures. However, there are other reasons behind suicides such as social problems, general rural distress, family issues. These cannot be termed farm suicides,’’ says Sudhir Kumar Goyal, divisional commissioner, Amravati. Goyal has been given the responsibility of implementing the relief measures announced for the six districts by the state as well as central governments. In November and December 2006, around 125 suicides were reported from the six districts. The previous months had reported between 115-125 suicides. In January, the number was down to 73, and 65 in February. “No one is addressing the root cause of the farmer distress in the cotton belt,” says Kishore Tiwari, convenor, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, which is tracking cases of farm suicides. “The slump in suicide could be deceptive. The situation will come to a boil once the moratorium on loan repayment expires,” stresses Tiwari. Apart from poor prices, high rate of interest on farm credit, lack of knowledge regarding GM seeds, it’s indebtedness which is the biggest problem faced by farmers. And probably, the chief reason behind suicides. “With many farmers abandoning food crops, they have to buy food for self-consumption along with seeds and fodder. Chemical fertilisers and pesticides, which the cash crops and hybrid food varieties need, are the costlier inputs,” says Goyal. But what really worries him is the lack of confidence among the farmers. “Millions of farmers are struggling for survival in a flawed system without proper help and guidance.” He feels low-cost farming with high stress on micro-watershed development in un-irrigated areas can save the distressed farmers. He also emphasises on the need to increase farmers’ income through allied activities like dairy farming, horticulture and agri-processing. Hopefully, these measures may save a hapless farmer’s life.

Children of a farmer who committed suicide after a delay in government aid

64 suicides in Feb. ’07 alone -asianage reports today

64 suicides in Feb. '07 alone - Farmer kills self over power cut(You can find it at: ' 64 suicides in Feb. '07 alone - Farmer kills self over power cut'The Asian Age ePaper - Digital replica of Print Edition.)http://epaper.asianage.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=24_02_2007_003_002&typ=0&pub=352A farmer, 60 year-old Rajarao Tulsiram Mate, committed suicide in the office of the Maharashtra Electricity Distribution Company's sub-station at Bhandaraj in Amaravati district, as power supply to his village had been cut for the last two days. His village is part of rural Vidarbha which faces 14 hours of electricity cut a day. The farmers in the area claim that their region faces massive load-shedding in order to restore 100 per cent power supply to Mumbai and rest of western Maharashtra. Vidarbha, these farmers claim, generates more than 6,000 MW of power and their requirement is just 5,200 MW. There is no need for load shedding in Vidarbha. Their region is suffering, they feel, so that western Maharashtra can prosper. Four other farmers apart from Mate committed suicide in the last two days, according to Mr Kishor Tiwari, of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, who has been keeping a record of every suicide by a farmer in Vidarbha. They are: ¦ Suryabhan Mahadu Atram, a tribal of village Mandawa in Zari block of Yavatmal district. ¦ Vishnu Kamble, a dalit farmer of Loni (Gavali) in Mehkar block of Buldhana district. ¦ Vithoba Pasare, a dalit farmer of Tawi village in Wardha district. ¦ Pramod Manik Shinde Usalga van of Dhamamgoan With these suicides, the number of suicides by farmers in Vidarbha in February 2007 has risen to 64. Since 2007, 70 farmers have committed suicide because of indebtedness, said Mr Tiwari. He said, as per government data, 1,452 farmers committed suicide in West Vidarbha in 2006; 560 in 2005 and 456 in 2004. "After this government came to power in 2004, officials promised that they would provide free 24-hour non-stop power supply to farmers; price cotton procurement at the rate of Rs 2,700 per quintal through the Cotton Federation, and waive the loans to make every cotton farmer debt-free. But they went back on their promises, with the result that since the CongressNationalist Congress Party government came to power, more than 3,000 farmers have committed suicide," Mr Tiwari added. The Congress-NCP coalition, according to Mr Tiwari, went back on every promise: ¦ The government stopped the existing free power scheme to Vidarbha farmers and imposed 12-hour daily power cuts in rural Vidarbha. ¦ It also stopped giving advance bonus in the cotton monopoly scheme at a rate of Rs 2,500 per quintal to cotton farmers and gave only Rs 1,700 per quintal

Free trade to blame for farmer suicides -KISHOR TIWARI-VJAS

Free trade to blame for farmer suicides

(kishor tiwari talks to time of india)

NAGPUR: Eleven more farmers have killed themselves in the last 48 hours in Vidarbha. Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) president Kishore Tiwari alleges 70% suicide cases have not been found eligible for compensation as per government norms. "The government says most of the suicides are on account of non-agrarian reasons like alcoholism, family problems and social tensions," said Tiwari. While official statistics said 1,452 farmers committed suicide last year, only 686 cases were found eligible for the Rs 1 lakh compensation. "Distress among cotton growers in west Vidarbha has worsened with the wrong policies of the state, which is bowing to WTO norms and free trade policies of globalisation. The Bt cotton seeds promoted by the government, instead of giving better yields or disease-free crop, have added to the woes of farmers as they are inadequately trained or protected from fake seeds," said Tiwari. As a result, the cotton economy of the region has collapsed, he said. Amravati divisional commissioner Goel insisted help was being provided on schedule. "Ongoing irrigation projects are being expedited and Rs 882 crore has been spent this year on them. Over 8,000 beneficiaries have been given 10,000 milch cattle in the last six months under the income supplementing scheme, while 6,000 sheep and goats have also been given to farmers," he said. VJAS has asked the Union government to earmark Rs 40,000 crore in the budget, to be announced next month, to tackle the agrarian crisis. "The government should provide for debt waiver, food security, proper health care, better irrigation facilities, education and rural employment opportunities," said Tiwari.

who is killing vidarbha farmers

SEZs CULTURE KILLING RURAL INDIA : WHEN THE RULERS BECOME KILLERS !!

VIDARBHA JAN ANDOLAN SAMITI

REGD. OFFICE: 11, TRISARAN SOCIETY, KHAMLA, NAGPUR - 440 025.
PH. 2282447/457 MOBILE-9422108846. vidarbha@gmail.com

================================================================================
REF: - FARMERS SUICIDES VERY-URGENT- PRESS-NOTE DATED- 17th feb., 2007

To,

1. Dr. Shri Manmohan Singh,

Hon'ble Prime Minister,

Union Council of Ministers,

Government of India,

North Block, New Delhi – 110 001.

2) Shri Pranab Mukherjee,

Chairperson,

Empowered Group of Ministers – SEZs,

Government of India,

North Block, New Delhi – 110 001 .

Hon'ble Sirs,

We are greatly concerned and disturbed with the rapidly deteriorating Rural Economic Conditions across the various States in India, especially the parts which are dependent upon the Agriculture as main source of income. The Policies of the Governments either at Union or the States are killing the Rural Economy.

The Special Economic Zones (SEZs) culture has posed great threat to the survival of poorest of the poor & the entire Agrarian Community is becoming the victims of the special treatment meted out to the select class of the society in the name & style of promotion of SEZs and the mad competition being seen across the various states by the Corporates and the support given by the State Governments without considering the long term impact of such SEZs in India.

We are submitting this representation for lodging our strong protest against the Policies of the Governments in extending the extra-ordinary helps to the Industrial Houses and the Corporates in the name & style of the SEZs and its mushrooming culture across the Indian States, which has been proved as disastrous to the economy of Rural India.

We sincerely hope that you will consider following vital points in light of the facts raised through this Representation and pass suitable orders directing the Core Group of Ministers' on SEZs which has taken a positive step by bringing to halt the approvals of Special Economic Zone projects and considering the need to review the Special Economic Zone Policy and Act 2005.

We are glad to know this decision was the need of the hour in response to the wide scale opposition and rising discontentment among communities across India for forced acquisition of their resources and also among the civil society and people's groups in general for not opening the issue of SEZs for dialogue or discussion.

We, being the Members of the civil society, have consistently been raising several concerns in the matter of establishment of SEZs. The key issues that have been raised by us include

1. Large scale forced acquisition of land and promotion of real estate businesses

2. Loss of local agriculture, fisheries based and other traditional livelihoods

3. Lack of equal and non-exploitative employment opportunities for local communities in SEZs

4. Increasing burden on natural resources like land, water, forests and environmental destruction

5. Revenue losses and lack of real economic development of the country and people

6. Breakdown of governance systems especially of the local self governments with the creation of foreign enclaves

7. No effort by the government to initiate or open public consultation on the matter.

The grounds of opposition to the culture of SEZ has been detailed as below :-

(A) Issue of Land and Displacement of livelihoods

In countries like India the issue of large scale acquisition of farm land leading to dispossessed farmers and loss of farm based livelihoods across the country side has been dominant in creation of SEZs. In India, as of now the total amount of land for the 400 projects (both formally and in-principle approved) comes up to 1,25,000 hectares according to a news report The government however, claims that most of this land is available with the State Industrial Development Corporations which is indeed untrue. Farmer's protests against acquisition of their lands in Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu. Orissa and Gujarat are evidence enough to prove that.

The fact is that before the opposition started the government was completely unprepared to deal with the issue of land acquisition and the subsequent fallouts on farmers.

• The Central SEZ Act 2005, for instance, is silent on land acquisition for SEZs. Further, land is a state subject and State governments are being expected to take the lead in establishing SEZs and, in characteristic fashion, the policy on land acquisition and potential displacement has been left unattended.
• The SEZ rules do mention that the land can be acquired by the developer only after BoA approval. However, in Haryana and Maharashtra we have seen that the state government and developers have started acquisition before receiving a nod from the MoC.
• Further , while there is a lower limit to the amount of land that can be acquired for an SEZ, there is no upper limit. Chapter 2 Section 4 of the Central Act in fact says that the central government after notifying the SEZ, if it considers appropriate, can subsequently notify, any additional area under the SEZ.
• What is also ironic is the government's position that state should stay out of the land acquisition process and that it should be between the two parties (Private party and the land owner) in case of private land. This is rather unfortunate considering that the state is supposed to protect interests of the marginalized sections of the society rather than let the big sharks free to eat the small fish. Unless we move with the assumptions that farmers and rural communities in India are no longer marginalized this is a bit hard to understand
• Another statement that "wastelands and single crop lands" can be acquired for SEZs is also adhoc and irrelevant. Any one who has an understanding of the rural areas would know that land use in India is not confined to cultivation but also extends to collective use for day-to-day survival. Fuel, fodder, other non-timber forest produce requirements are met from land, which could be categorized as 'common property resource' or charagah, gaucher, padit bhoomi in local languages but is referred to as "wasteland" by the government. Another critical issue is that in many states these "waste" lands are also either already under cultivation where the farmers are yet to get legal titles. In Raigarh district, where Reliance is planning to build a massive SEZ, almost 12,000 hectares of what are known as Dali Lands have been under cultivation by the tribals for decades now. Most families though are still awaiting regularization of these lands since they fall under the category of Forest land. Similar is the case for Orissa. For example, in Jagatsinghpur district the area where the Multinational Pohang Steel Company is planning its Special Economic Zone, almost 300 families are yet to be allotted legal titles. In the absence of pattas or titles, the villagers have virtually no bargaining power and get displaced without adequate or any compensation. Rehabilitation in such cases is not even considered by the government.

Also, considering the size of many of the special economic zones – they would be spread over an area of hundreds of hectares. It would be rather difficult to find contiguous "wastelands" spread over large areas, especially in many of the states like Tamil Nadu, Haryana, UP and Maharashtra, where these zones are coming up. So it would be virtually impossible to locate them "only on wastelands". In its myopic view of the problem of "Land" in SEZ projects the Ministry has failed completely in considering these complexities and dynamics which will have serious consequences for rural communities and the last of the common property resources in our country.

• The principle of "eminent domain" which is the basis of our colonial Land Acquisition Act (1894) is being clearly misused and even given priority over the principles in the 73 rd and 74 ^th amendment of the constitution, which give primacy to gramsabhas as autonomous decision making entities.
• Now, in a rush to facilitate the setting up of these zones the Government is also pushing a National Rehabilitation Policy based on a 2006 draft circulated by the Ministry of Rural Development. This draft has been extensively criticized by people's groups for being sketchy and inadequate. Further, this draft completely overlooks the earlier draft prepared in 2005 by the National Advisory Council (NAC) of the UPA in extensive consultation with people's groups. The 2006 draft does not draw from the principles of the 2005 draft version but in fact ignores them. In spite of detailed people's opposition to the new draft the government is pushing for its passage.
• In a scenario where new mega-projects like Special Economic Zones are coming up at a fast pace within the legislative framework of the SEZ Act 2005, such a Rehabilitation policy in combination with the colonial Land acquisition act would do little to address the issues that arise out of development induced displacement.

(B) Labour Exploitation Issues :

It is a well known fact that all over the world trade and export zones have reported instances of labour exploitation as a characteristic feature. India is not very different.

• Prior to the SEZ Act 2005, and the introduction of the SEZ policy, theoretically, all labour and factory legislation were fully applicable in the EPZs. However, even in the EPZs, trade unions were practically absent and rare despite attempts of trade unions to organize. The key reason being the restriction to entry into the EPZs, which is limited to the employees who are transported directly to and from the factory door. Workers have also reported fear of victimization by management if they become part of union activities. In the Noida EPZ, workers have been sacked for demanding that labour laws should be implemented.
• The government had restricted the right to strike in two of India's export processing zones (EPZs) - the Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) near Bombay and the Kandla Free Trade Zone – by giving them "Public Utility" status under the Industrial Disputes Act. This makes strikes illegal unless they are preceded by specified reconciliation procedures involving the Labour Commissioners' Office
• In the current SEZ regime, the labour laws have been significantly watered down. Chapter 2 Clause 5(g) of the SEZ rules hands over the power to the Development Commissioner to declare the SEZ as a "Public Utility Service". Clause 5(f) delegates powers to the Development Commissioner to handle workmen-employer relations. Functions of the labour commissioner are also handed over to the Development Commissioner.
• As in other parts of the world in Indian EPZs it is the women who constitute the bulk of the work force in the EPZs, employed in establishments such as ready-made garments and electronics-based and software industries In an All India Convention of EPZ/ SEZ workers organized by CITU in 2002 it was discussed that women workers are exploited in these zones, Women are made to work in night shifts without providing proper conveyance to their residences. They are not given maternity leave. On the other hand, women found to be pregnant are removed from service. Cr unches are not provided. Young and unmarried women are only preferred. The use of toilets is controlled by issuing tokens. Sexual harassment is very common.
• In the Santa Cruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) near Bombay, ninety per cent of the workers are women who are generally young and too frightened to form unions. Working conditions are bad and overtime is compulsory. The same is the case in the Cochin SEZ. The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act 1970 specifically prohibits employing contract workers in activities which are "permanent and perpetual" in nature. We have example of many SEZ/EPZs where almost all the activities conducted by the units in are permanent and perpetual in nature and yet the practice of employing contract workers goes unabated

In the time to come the issue of labour is going to emerge as a major concern in these zones.

(C) Environmental Issues in SEZs

While it would be very premature to talk about the environmental impacts of the large number of SEZ projects that are coming up, we have the Chinese example to imagine the extent of the environmental losses involved. India is already going through a crisis in terms of water scarcity as well as loss of forests and biodiversity. The point is that in the current framework for economic development costs of loss of forest and other common lands; large scale exploitation of water resources; coastal lands and lines; pollution – air and water; generation of e-waste etc; are not even being computed.

The environmental governance mechanisms have only seen weakening since the past five years. We have the following points to consider

• It was way back in 2001 that the 1994 Environment Impact Assessment notification an amendment was made in 2001 that exempted SEZs from Public hearings, which was a critical part of the Environment Clearance procedure
• The EIA notification 1994 was amended in a major way and a new notification was introduced in 2006 in order to issue fast track clearances for all projects
• Schedule 1of the EIA notification, 2006 issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, under item 7c covers industrial estates/parks/complexes/areas, export processing zones (EPZs), Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Biotech Parks, Leather Complexes. The above categories continue to be exempted from the requirement of a public consultation even in the new notification
• The EIA Notification, 2006 divides industries, projects and activities into Category A and Category B where projects under Category A have to be cleared by the Central Government, and Projects under Category B are to be cleared by the State Government.
• Under Category A slated for Central Clearance " if at least one industry in the proposed industrial estate (SEZ) falls under Category A, the entire industrial area shall be treated as Category A irrespective of area", and "industrial estates with area greater than 500 ha. and housing at least one Category B industry" will be considered Category A and will require Central clearance.
• Under Category B, with "industrial estates housing at least one Category B industry and area <> 500 ha and not housing any industry belonging to Category A or B", require an EIA report to be cleared at the State Level.
• An industrial estate that is less than 500 ha and does not house an industry of either Category A or B is exempt from Environmental Clearance.
• While it seems fairly clear that units operating within SEZs largely require an Environmental Clearance at either the Central or State Level, on the basis of an E.I.A, but without a public consultation, a broad-based, sweeping "Special Condition" undermines even this basic requirement. The condition states-

If any zone with homogeneous type of industries (under sections of chemical and petrochemical/bulk drug industries), or those Industrial estates with pre –defined set of activities (not necessarily homogeneous), obtains prior environmental clearance, individual industries including proposed industrial housing within such estates /complexes will not be required to take prior environmental clearance , so long as the Terms and Conditions for the industrial estate/complex are complied with

• Construction projects are out of the purview of the EIA notification 2006

The SEZ Act and rules also leave the following ambiguities

• No mention is made of regulatory mechanisms for Multi-product, single product zones, tourism zones as well as clearance for entire SEZ clearance vs. clearance for units
• Guidelines for notification of SEZs are silent on environmental and ecological concerns
• Single window clearances and roles of the approval committee are over arching. It is the development commissioner and later the SEZ Authority that would
• The single window clearance feature makes the Approval committee at the state level under the DC responsible for approval of all SEZ units and even compliance to conditions of approval if any are to be monitored by the AC
• There is no mention of the role of the Pollution Control Board
• There is mention of Coastal Regulation related provisions in the sez rules and act. CRZ Notifications make space for SEZ's with almost no conditions and regulation

These issues become even graver with provisions like the one restricting entry into the SEZs , which will be open to authorised persons only. This would obviously make it difficult for independent researchers to enter the area to carry out any environmental impact assessments or studies.

Issues of Governance and sovereignty of self governments

The most antidemocratic aspects of the SEZ Act which hit out at the sovereignty of governance systems

Special Economic Zones have been given the status of industrial townships as per provisions of clause (1) of Article 243Q of the Indian Constitution and defined in Section 3.2 of SEZ Act, 2005. The State Government will declare the SEZs as Industrial Township Areas to function as self-governing, autonomous municipal bodies. Once an SEZ is declared as an Industrial Township Area, it will cease to be under the jurisdiction of any other local body like- Municipal Corporation and gram panchayat. Moreover, the SEZ Developer and Units would also be exempted from taxes levied by the local bodies because of its self-contained local body.

This clearly undermines the constitutional status given to Urban local Governance and Panchayats under 74 ^th and 73^rd amendment. The present need is to improve financial powers given to the Panchayats to enable them to invest in physical and social infrastructure as a means of promoting growth and equity. And unregulated excessive industrial exploitation of land, water and other natural resources would only worsen the life of rural poor when Panchayats do not have any control of decision and taxing SEZs.

• The status of "deemed foreign territory" to SEZs will snatch the sovereignty of locals from their lands, and natural resources which is the backbone of local economy and sustenance and also their fundamental right to movement as Indian citizens will be violated.
• What is really going to challenge the governance system is the creation and concentration of power in the hands of the Development Commissioner at the state level and the Board of approvals in the Centre.
• Further, the SEZ Act provides that grievances related to the SEZ can only be filed with courts designated by the state governments which will only be for trials related to civil and other matters of Special Economic Zones. No other courts can try a case unless it goes through the designated court first.
• Building of a physical boundary around the SEZ and restricting entry to authorsied persons' only means that it would be difficult for any individual or civil society groups and independent agencies to enter the area without prior approval of the Development Commissioner.
• Creating foreign territories as SEZs within the national boundary will challenge the sovereignty of the country and undermine the constitutional right to freedom and liberty. This will enhance the internal conflicts led by economic and infrastructural disparity.

The act is completely silent as to the mechanisms for accountability of these (SEZ authority/ Approvals' Authority) bodies to the people of the country.

Countering the Economic Logic

There are several questions that have been raised by economists and intellectuals challenging the arguments being offered in favour of SEZs as "engines of economic growth". Some of these are

1. Revenue losses from tax exemptions

According to an internal assessment of the Union Finance Ministry in 2005, the government had to forgo about Rs. 90,000 crore in direct and indirect taxes over a period of four years on account of the SEZs.

The 1998 Comptroller and Auditor-General Report on EPZs, stated that "customs duty amounting to Rs.7, 500 crore was forgone for achieving net foreign exchange earnings of Rs. 4,700 crore and the government does not seem to have made any cost benefit analysis.".

The RBI has estimated that till 2010 the country exchequer would lose 1,60,000 on account of the tax subsidies to SEZ projects. The other concern is of SEZs turning into real estate businesses considering that 65% of the area within a zone can be a non industrial set-up.

2. Domination of IT and Software projects

In the developing countries, the optimism generated by the boom in IT services allows the government to ignore the fact that growth of employment in the commodity producing sectors has not merely decelerated sharply but is increasingly less responsive to increases in output – the jobless growth syndrome. The optimism that IT services generate is only because this is the only segment where employment is increasing significantly. But that growth may be inadequate for most of the population except the middle class minority.

In Bangalore and Pune, both cities that have witnessed IT driven growth in the past five years, issues of widening class disparities within the city leading to several social problems have emerged. Between July 2005 and 06, the Consumer Price Index escalated by about 8% in Pune, and 7% in Bangalore. This is further driving the real estate market – and cities like Pune have seen a whopping ascent in property prices as well as new construction. The ultimate load is on the city infrastructure – problems that both these aspiring to be metro-cities are facing. The states where these cities are located also are the toppers in the list of approved SEZ projects.

3. POOR EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF EPZS

There has been a comparison between SEZs and EPZs and the prediction of performance of SEZs in export production based on the EPZ experience in India

Lets take a look at some figures that will throw a light on the performance of EPZs

• EPZs contributed to 4% of the exports in the country (2002)
• As per an MoC report the exports from the Special Economic Zones during 2004-05 were of the order of US$ 4 billion, representing an annual growth of over 36%. During April-December, 2005, the exports from the SEZs stood at about US$ 3.5 billion.
• During the five year period ending 1996-97 the foreign exchange outgo on imports made by the units and the customs duty forgone amounted to Rs.16461.58 crore against which exports of only Rs.13563.87 crore were reported.
• An appraisal of the seven EPZs was undertaken during August 1996 to July 1997. Out of 2333 units granted letters of Approval, 513 units were functional as on 31 March 1997.
• The Ministry of Commerce stated that 1351 projects/LOAs had been cancelled or lapsed on account of non-implementation indicating 58 per cent mortality in the units approved.

While the zoning concept remains the same as far as EPzs and SEZs are concerned, there are certain differences here –

• 100% Export oriented units were essential in the EPZ policy and the conditions to get concessions and taxes were more difficult
• The SEZ policy relaxes the conditions by allowing sale of products to domestic market by the Units in SEZ

The doubt that is being raised is that if SEZs are not able to attract EoUs then would they become hubs for domestic market production, which inturn would affect domestic producers in non SEZ areas (or domestic tariff areas)

Under all circumstances, in SEZ, the main beneficiaries would not be the units but the developers who would be getting land at cheap rates from the state along with huge concessions on infrastructure, maintenance and tax breaks. Even if they fail in attracting EOUs, their success will depend upon the set of activities (entertainment and township) that they can carry out for generating profits in the non industrial area of the SEZ.

4. Regional Imbalances

The state wise break up of the number of projects below shows the dominance of SEZ projects in Maharashtra , Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. As in the case of China many of these zones are to be located in coastal areas. They also seem to be clustering around urban and already developed areas due to easy access to infrastructural facilities for transport and communication. The question that is being raised is of creation and further accentuation of already existing regional imbalances. Further, there is a concern about concentration of these zones in areas that are already over burdened and running short as far as supply of water and power are concerned.

The question that is being repeatedly raised is that are these zones relevant in the current economic context of India?

In view of above, we hereby demand the following immediate reliefs in the national interest, especially the interest of Agrarian Community staying in the Rural India.

� the SEZ Act 2005 be repealed to ensure industrial and economic development which is fair and democratic

� the approved and notified SEZs be cancelled and land acquisitions already made be annulled

� an immediate dialogue or consultation be initiated with people's groups, communities and Panchayat representatives to seek opinion on strengthening the development of local economies

We once again reiterate that the SEZ Act 2005 is anti democratic and unconstitutional as it completely violates the right to life and livelihood of people, who are being forcefully displaced for the implementation of these projects. The Act promotes large scale privatization and monopolization of resources into the hands of a few private developers at huge costs to the state exchequer as well as the economy and environment of this country.

We hope that being representatives of the people, you stand united with us for a just and democratic society that ensures equitable development for all.

Thanking You & anticipating an immediate steps from your Desk,

Yours faithfully,

KISHORE TIWARI

IPRESIDENT,

VIDARBHA JAN ANDOLAN SAMITI

11, TRISARAN SOCIETY, KHAMLA,

NAGPUR – 440 025

CC to :

1. Shri Murli Manohar Joshi, Member of Parliament – Lok Sabha & The Hon'ble Chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, Parliament House, New Delhi – 110 001.

2. Shri GK Pillai, Special Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Udyog Bhavan, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi – 110 001

3. Shri Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, Udyog Bhavan, New Delhi – 110 001.

CC with compliments to :-

1. Hon'ble President of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi,
2. Shri Atal Behari Bajpai, Former Prime Minister of India, New Delhi,
3. Shri Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Former Prime Minister of India, New Delhi.

Bureaucrats Shed Crocodile Tears in Vidarbha

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Bureaucrats Shed Crocodile Tears in Vidarbha
The recent interview given by Shri Sudhir Kumar Goyal, Divisional Commissioner, Incharge Relief, Amravati, Maharashtra, shows that politicians are pressing the bureaucrats into action for fire fighting in Vidarbha.Shri Goyal has tried to shed a few tears, for suicidal cotton farmers, of Vidarbha, and rattled off figures of how much interest waivure, has been provided to the farmers on their loans. He says no government in the world can subsidize 60% farmers. He however, is pointedly silent on why these loans were advanced to farmers in the first place if cultivating cotton in Vidarbha is such a risky proposition. Did the ministers, government departments and senior responsible officers,not know that cultivating resource intensive cotton in Vidarbha is a risky proposition ?I wish to point out some of the cotton export figures of India for the period January 2006 - September 2006 to show how Shri Goyal is trying to deflect attention from governmental dishonesty.US Imports from India : Rise in percentage from previous year in same period -1. Textiles and Apparel : 16.75% rise2. Yarns : 136.96% rise3. Fabrics : 27.36% rise4. MadeUps : 8.53% rise5. Apparel : 11.32% rise6. Cotton Yarn : 209.66%7. Cotton Fabrics : 22.11% rise8. Blue Denim : 351% rise9. Knit Fabrics : 150% rise10. Cotton Hosiery : 358% rise11. Cotton Bed Linen : 25.15% rise12. Terry Towels : 47% rise13. Cotton Apparel : 17.30% riseCategory Jan/Sep 2005 Jan/Sep 2006 %change % share in World Total for Jan/Sep 2006World 300 364.656 336.993 -7.59 100.00301 452.106 480.383 6.25 100.00Total 816.762 817.376 0.08 100.00India 300 5.301 8.828 66.53 2.62301 15.628 62.520 300.06 13.01Total 20.929 71.348 240.90 8.73China 300 1.703 8.926 424.16 2.65301 16.703 5.164 -69.08 1.07Total 18.406 14.090 -23.45 1.72Pakistan 300 157.856 166.951 5.76 49.54301 131.361 145.280 10.60 30.24Total 289.217 312.231 7.96 38.20300 – Carded cotton yarn; 301 -- Combed cotton yarnConversion factor: 8.5 SME = 1 Kg.The TEXPROCIL informs us "It is remarkable that Indian imports have grown from 5.301 MSME to 8.828 MSME. This performance is all the more commendable because in a falling market, India has shown a growth and that too when in the corresponding period of the previous year, the performance was meagre..""..The growth in case of India for Combed cotton yarn (Category 301) is tremendous rising from 15.628 MSME to 62.520 MSME. Looked at differently, the growth in imports of this product from all sources has been to the extent of 28.277 MSME of which the maximum has been on account of imports from India alone. Compared to this, imports from China have declined by 69%.."Does Shri Goyal think that Indian cotton farmers are so foolish, as to accept his prescriptions regarding the reasons for their suicides ? How can he even think of insulting the cotton farmers of Vidarbha like this, in the face of the strong surge in Indian cotton exports ? Maybe with such intellectually dishonest bureaucrats, to look after them, the Vidarbha cotton farmers are better off having no hope rather than listen to such patently absurd agricultural prescriptions.Incredible India. The only country where bureaucrats in the garb of Relief Commissioners have the job of giving sugar coated pills to farmers, instead of bitter medicine.If Indian cotton exports, are doing so well in US markets, even against suppliers like China and Pakistan, why are the cotton growers of Vidarbha only only facing the prospects of suicides and sugar coated pills from senior bureaucrats shedding crocodile tears ?Check out the cotton export figures for yourself and ask Shri Goyal what new story he wants to tell Vidarbha farmers ? - http://www.texprocil.com/monthly/usaqty_sep06.docShri Goyal claims that the cotton farmer has become a bonded labourer on his own farm who cannot afford to even pay wages. The real answer he does not provide is whose bonded labourer is the Vidarbha cotton farmer ? Who is benefitting from the bondage of the Vidarbha farmer ?But then maybe, Shri Goyal is after all, fire fighting on somebody else's behalf, and is just trying to concoct excuses and stories for his political masters. After all, everyone has to earn a living.

The cotton farmer has become a bonded labourer on his own farm-dr.sudhir goyal

The cotton farmer has become a bonded labourer on his own farm



Low-cost cultivation can save Vidarbha farmers
Dr.Sudhir Kumar Goyal,
Divisional commissioner
Amaravati
contact-09823131195
(Dr.sudhir goyal was agri. commissinor of mahrashtra was removed from this post in2005 as promoted low-cost clutivation)

shocking fact in an interview with Shyam Pandharipande of IANS

Posted by admin on 2007/2/16 1:19:50
http://www.teluguportal.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=32277

1. the cotton farmer has become a bonded labourer on his own farm, as he cannot earn even as much as he should pay others as wage labour
2."In fact, the crisis is more about the millions of farmers who are struggling for survival in a flawed system amid adversity without proper help and guidance,"
3.the crisis had worsened in recent times.
Indebtedness is a consequence of wrong agricultural practices, unbridled market forces and inadequate protection against the vagaries of nature.
4."We allocate Rs.400 billion for irrigation on 15 percent of the cultivable area and only Rs.40 billion for watershed development on 85 percent of the rain-fed area,"
5.the case of Yavatmal, where the annual spending on pesticides is Rs.300 million and the use of BT cotton rampant.
Amravati (Maharashtra), Feb 16 (IANS) Low-cost farming and regeneration of water resources can be a way out of misery for farmers who are driven to desperation and suicides, says a senior Maharashtra official.

Sudhir Kumar Goyal, the Amravati divisional commissioner, blames the indiscriminate promotion of cost-intensive farming, even in un-irrigated areas, for the poor condition of farmers in the state.

The five suicide-prone districts of western Vidarbha, namely Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldana and Washim, which have reported close to 1,500 suicides in the last 20 months, fall within Goyal's jurisdiction.

"My heart goes out for those who ended their lives out of acute frustration and for their bereaved families even as I am worried about those caught in the web of a flawed system," Goyal told IANS in an interview.

Two massive relief packages are under implementation in the state. Goyal, the implementing authority for the prime minister's as well as the state government's relief package, admitted that the crisis had worsened in recent times.

Indebtedness is a consequence of wrong agricultural practices, unbridled market forces and inadequate protection against the vagaries of nature.

"In fact, the crisis is more about the millions of farmers who are struggling for survival in a flawed system amid adversity without proper help and guidance," Goyal told IANS.

His prescription to end the crisis: low-cost farming with high stress on micro-watershed development in un-irrigated areas.

"We allocate Rs.400 billion for irrigation on 15 percent of the cultivable area and only Rs.40 billion for watershed development on 85 percent of the rain-fed area," he pointed out, citing the case of Maharashtra where he has done a stint as agriculture commissioner.

He said the introduction of high yield varieties had eroded the sustenance base and the shift to cash crops without regard to the soil type and climatic conditions was proving to be the compounding factors.

He cited the case of Yavatmal, where the annual spending on pesticides is Rs.300 million and the use of BT cotton rampant, as an illustration of promotion of cost-intensive farming in un-irrigated areas.

Till the 1960s, farmers produced traditional varieties of food grains for sale as well as self-consumption. Seeds and manure were also produced on-farm as was fodder for cattle. Hybrid food varieties, which replaced traditional ones, do not yield seeds and fodder.

With many farmers completely abandoning food crops, they have to buy food for self-consumption along with seeds and fodder. Chemical fertilisers and pesticides, which the cash crops and hybrid food varieties need, are of course the costlier inputs that the farmers have to buy even as the prices of farm produce are going down, he said.

An attendant contradiction, Goyal said, is that irrigated agriculture is heavily subsidised - be it water, fertilisers, pesticides, insecticides - while there is no subsidy on agriculture in the rain-fed area.

The bureaucrat has been pressing for a fool-proof crop insurance scheme to mitigate the farmers' sufferings on account of drought and excess rain and advocating market reforms to shield them from mindless market forces.

Because of cost-intensive farming that requires loans, the cotton farmer has become a bonded labourer on his own farm, as he cannot earn even as much as he should pay others as wage labour, Goyal pointed out.

While the revival of the old chavadi system - a feature of community life in which village adults would sit together and care for each other's welfare - or joint families seems difficult, promotion of low-cost farming, measures to increase the farmers' net income and protective mechanism such as crop insurance and market reforms should be pressed vigorously, he stressed.

Another important input would be the creation of secondary or 'off-farm' sources of income like dairy, goat-rearing and other agro-based vocations that the government is trying to promote, he said.

--By Shyam Pandharipande