Fields of gold: Dionne Bunsha detects the makings of another Indian mutiny.

India wants to follow in the footsteps of China. Special Economic Zones are supposed to be miracle pills that can raise a country up to export-led superstardom. So the Government forcibly requisitions large chunks of land at knock-down prices, offers huge concessions and hands them over to 'developers'. Economic, environmental or labour laws don't apply inside the zones. Taxes and duties don't have to be paid. Local government is done away with.

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It's a steal for any company. But, as Indian journalist Dionne Bunsha--who edited this section--discovers, there is widespread revolt against the dispossession of thousands of people; and even some of the business elite have their doubts.

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It's a breezy Sunday afternoon in Chirner village, just a couple of hours from the bustle of Mumbai. The hills are bursting with bright new foliage after the first monsoon showers. People are busy working in the lush paddy fields. Children are fishing in little trenches in the rice fields.

But all's not well in this idyllic village. Though they live amidst myriad shades of green, people here can only see red. Their fertile land is being forcibly snatched to make way for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

This region has a history of resistance dating back to the Indian Independence struggle. On 25 September 1930, Chirner was the site of a Jungle Satyagraha (civil disobedience) against the British, to defy forest laws that denied them their right to collect firewood. Police gunshots killed 14 people, including a mamlatdar (district official) who refused to give orders to fire. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the icon of the Dalit (lower caste) movement and author of the Indian Constitution, fought the court case for the jungle satyagrahis (freedom fighters).

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Now, Chirner is the focal point for another fight, this time for sovereignty against India's largest conglomerate--Reliance. Envisioned as Mumbai's satellite city, Reliance's MahaMumbai SEZ will spread over 14,000 hectares--a third the size of the metropolis itself. The Government is acting as real-estate agent, acquiring 45 villages in Raigad district for the project.

'We fought the British when they didn't let us enter our forest. Why shouldn't we fight now, when Reliance is' going to take our homes, our farms, everything?' asks Kalu Daku Kharpatil, an 88-year-old who witnessed the Chirner Jungle Satyagraha when he was 12 years old. 'We won't let malls and highrises come up on our fields of gold.'

Real estate

Even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has questioned their viability and asked banks to treat SEZs as 'commercial real estate' and charge higher interest rates. Most SEZs are being developed as new townships on the outskirts of cities. That's why the RBI and several others are concerned that it's nothing more than easy real-estate development in the guise of export promotion. The Finance Ministry is also anxious about the Rs 1,000 billion ($25 billion) revenue loss from tax sops.

Rahul Bajaj, chair of Bajaj Auto, India's second-largest motorcycle maker, says SEZs are turning into 'land scams'. He is worried they will create zones of privilege, while industries outside the zone will be left at an unfair disadvantage. It's questionable whether SEZs will result in new investment or merely encourage existing companies to shift into these enclaves.

Recently, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) suggested that the Indian Government should review its tax concessions. Research suggests that they generate very little new investment.

But the fiercest protests have come from those who will be ousted. The massive land grab has stirred mutinies in villages across the country. Some have turned violent.

Unfrozen

The mutinies forced the Government to stop granting permissions and to review its policy. Left parties allied to the Government opposed certain clauses, but not the policy itself. Sonia Gandhi, President of the ruling Congress Party, worried that popular support would be affected. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-the architect of India's neoliberal reforms-is adamant that his policy must stay. In April 2007 the policy was unfrozen after the size of an SEZ was limited to 5,000 hectares, of which at least half must be used for export processing. A rehabilitation policy was promised but has yet to be announced.

The Government claims that it will only acquire wasteland or agricultural land that yields just one crop. Yet fertile fields are being taken over. Some of the SEZs are perilously close to protected forests. It's the companies that decide what land they want, and then the Government acquires it for them.

A colonial law, The Land Acquisition Act of 1894, is still in use. The process is illogical and bizarre. Once notification is issued, public objections are invited. The Government then decides on the compensation package--archaic official records estimate the land value at less than a third of the current market value. But how can people accept or reject a deal before they know what they are getting? On what basis can they file objections without knowing the rehabilitation on offer?

'We are not against development. But what kind?' asks Sadashiv Patil, a farmer from Shirki village in Raigad. 'We haven't been told anything about where we will be resettled or where we will find an alternative livelihood. If they are truly interested in giving us a fair deal, why don't they sit across the table and talk to us?'

Revalt for freedom

'Can you see us anywhere in this picture?' asks Patil, pointing to a glossy brochure for MahaMumbai with pictures of skyscrapers, an airplane and a golfer, 'We won't get jobs here. We will only get work washing other people's dishes.'

The majority of SEZs that have been formally approved are for the IT industry--not a likely place for farmers to find work. Most of the others are large and 'multi-product', like the MahaMumbai townships. Large-scale construction in these areas will cause massive environmental damage. There will be greater pressure on water resources. Without any environmental clearance, developers are carving out huge chunks of rock and mud for construction material.

Villagers question the need to acquire their land when previous attempts at industrialization have failed. Across the country, several industrial estates were abandoned after tax concessions ran out. 'Why can't the state give out the vacant industrial land for SEZs?' asks Patil. 'Or why don't they dare to acquire the buildings of the rich in Mumbai?'

'What would my dead father say if he were to see us now?'' asks Kalu Daku Kharpatil. "Are you a moron?" "Are you a eunuch?"' The 88-year-old is ready for another fight. 'I'd rather kill them and go to jail than have to wash their dishes.'

Villages across India are preparing for the second revolt for freedom.

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Further reference: www.sezindia.nic.in (the Indian Government's website) http://sez-india.blogspot.com/

Dionne Bunsha is a regular contributor to New Internationalist and writes for Frontline in India.