PANAJI: Maintaining that the special economic zones (SEZs) proposed in Goa had become synonymous with looting, the executive director of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) and a senior counsel of the Supreme Court, Mr Colin Gonsalves, on Wednesday, said that employment can happen in the state without SEZs, by setting up industries and factories.
"SEZ was a bad idea from the point of industrialisation," he added. Earlier, the SEZ Virodhi Manch, an NGO opposing the concept of special economic zones in Goa, felicitated Mr Gonsalves at the hands of the former IAS officer, Mr Arvind Bhatikar, for his support to the anti-SEZ agitation.
Later, addressing a press conference, Mr Gonsalves said that nobody is opposed to unemployment generation in Goa, but it should be consistent, without affecting the people of the state.
"The allotment of lands for the SEZs by the Goa Industrial Development Corporation was a perfect case of criminal fraud, breach of trust and misappropriation," he observed, noting that the Land Acquisition Act, under which the land was provided to the promoters of the SEZs, was an outdated, colonial legislation, which has no provision for taking back land, once it is given out.
Reacting to the recent High Court verdict, which quashed and set aside the allotment of land on lease by the GIDC Goa, to all the SEZ promoters, Mr Gonsalves said that the significance of the case is victory to the public struggle.
"Some very fine judges handled the case in a very impartial manner," he added.
The human rights activist also said that he is ready to take on the case, if the promoters of the case approach the apex court against the High Court verdict.
Meanwhile, the SEZ Virodhi Manch has demanded that the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat sack the GIDC chairman, Mr Chandrakant Kavlekar and the Power Minister, Mr Aleixo Sequeira, besides other members on the panel, which allotted the lands, and initiate a judicial or a CBI inquiry into the alleged illegal allotments, causing losses to the public exchequer to the tune of over ` 100 crore as per the report of the Comptroller and Auditor general of India, for the year 2008-09.
The SVM has also demanded that the said lands should be taken over by the government from the GIDC and utilised in accordance with the wishes of the people of the concerned villages for utility/ community projects.
Mr Praveen Sabnis of the SEZ Virodhi Manch alleged that the former president of the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Nitin Kuncolienkar, who was one of the members on the GIDC panel that allotted the lands for SEZs, now has to save his skin, and hence is making public statements in support of the SEZs.
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